Injured del Potro to open for Argentina against the Czech’s Stepanek in Davis Cup semifinal

“I’ll try to give as much as I can despite the fact the doctor has told me not to play,” said the right-handed del Potro, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last week. “This is a chance to play in front of family and friends and people close to me who can never see me play. “If this were not a semifinal, perhaps I would have thought more about it.” The second singles match on Friday will pit Argentina’s Juan Monaco against Tomas Berdych on clay at a sold-out Parque Roca on the outskirts of the Argentine capital. The doubles on Saturday will be Argentina pair Carlos Berlocq and Eduardo Schwank up against Ivo Minar and Lukas Rosol. The reverse singles, if necessary, will be played on Sunday. Argentina captain Martin Jaite says he’s happy del Potro will play. “Obviously our team with Juan Martin is stronger than our team without him,” Jaite said. Berdych lost to eventual champion Andy Murray in the U.S. Open semifinals. “Berdych is a player who comes here with lots of confidence,” Monaco said. Cheap Nike Air Max“But he’s not Andy (Murray), he’s not (Roger) Federer.” The Czechs have won three of four head-to-head matches against Argentina in the Davis Cup. In the two most recent, the Czechs defeated Argentina in the 2009 quarterfinals in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Argentina won in 2005 in a first-round match in Buenos Aires. The Czechs won the Davis Cup in 1980 playing as Czechoslovakia. The United States plays Spain in the other semifinal in Gijon, Spain. ___ Follow Stephen Wade at http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.