With a powerful line-up featuring Nikolay Davydenko, Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov, Russia are considered the overwhelming favourites when they host Argentina in this weekend's Davis Cup final.
Team insiders say, however, that Russia's secret weapon could be their 58-year-old non-playing captain Shamil Tarpishchev, who has more than three decades of coaching experience in major international competitions.
The Russian is fast approaching the Davis Cup record of former Australia captain Neale Fraser who collected 49 wins as he led his side to four Davis Cup titles in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tarpishchev, who doubles as Russia's Fed Cup captain, has chalked up 41 victories in 62 Davis Cup ties. He has also won 24 of 33 Fed Cup matches.
"This must be some kind of record, worthy of being in the Guinness Book of Records," Tarpishchev, who keeps a log of all his matches on the bench, told Reuters.
"I don't think anybody else has more wins," said the man dubbed a "tennis genius" by US captain Patrick McEnroe after Russia beat his team 3-2 in this year's Davis Cup semi-finals.
Although the International Tennis Federation (ITF) does not keep official statistics for team captains in Davis or Fed Cup play, Tarpishchev has reached several coaching milestones.
Two years ago, the Muscovite became only the third person to win both trophies, matching the feat of Frenchmen Yannick Noah and Guy Forget, when Russia beat a Forget-led France 3-2 in the Moscow final to clinch their maiden Fed Cup crown.
UNIQUE DOUBLE
Tarpishchev also got the better of his old rival Forget in 2002 when he steered Russia to their first Davis Cup triumph, edging France 3-2 in the Paris final.
Last year, Russia successfully defended their Fed Cup crown, again overcoming France 3-2 in the final at Roland Garros.
Tarpishchev, however, narrowly missed a unique double of winning both titles in the same year after losing to eventual winners Croatia 3-2 in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Zagreb.
If Russia win the final, he would become the first captain to guide his country to both Fed and Davis Cup titles more than once.
Tarpishchev said he began plotting strategy for the Argentina clash the minute Tursunov beat Andy Roddick in an epic five-set battle to put Russia into the Davis Cup final.
"Choosing the right surface is crucial to winning the tie," said Tarpishchev, who needs five more Davis or Fed Cup ties to reach a century mark in the coach's chair.
"The hosts always have an advantage because they can pick the surface that gives them the biggest edge."
With a powerful line-up featuring Nikolay Davydenko, Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov, Russia are considered the overwhelming favourites when they host Argentina in this weekend's Davis Cup final.
The Russians laid a slow clay court at Moscow's Olympic arena to host the Americans, mainly to neutralise the speed and power of Roddick's booming serve, and will use a fast carpet surface against the clay-court specialists from South America.
"Both Marat and Dmitry like a high bounce, so will make sure the court fits them perfectly," Tarpishchev said.
PARQUET FLOOR
"Years ago the Davis Cup rules regarding the playing surface were not as clearly defined as they are now so home teams often went to extremes to give themselves an edge," recalled Tarpishchev, who coached his first Davis Cup tie in 1974.
"Playing matches in Central and South America was always the most difficult because those countries would bend the rules to the maximum limit.
"I remember a Davis Cup tie was once held on an asphalt court while another took place on a parquet floor, which was also waxed with paraffin to unsettle a visiting team."
Tarpishchev, who has not lost a home time in the Davis Cup since taking the Russian job in 1997, said he might borrow a few ideas from his Belarus colleague Sergei Teterin, whose team crushed Argentina 5-0 in the 2004 Davis Cup quarter-finals.
Then, after beating Russia 3-2 on a tartan indoor court in a first-round clash in Minsk, Teterin was asked if he would want to meet the South Americans on a similarly fast surface.
"No, we want to play them on an ice rink if that's possible," Teterin snapped back with a wry smile.
The cool-headed Tarpishchev, who also coached the Soviet Union from 1974 to 1991, has earned the deepest respect of all his players.
When a reporter asked Safin how he would prepare for Argentina, the former world number one just shrugged. "Well, we have our tennis genius to think about it. I'm sure he'll figure something out," he said.
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