Rafael Nadal will play Sergiy Stakhovsky in Friday’s second Davis Cup singles rubber after Spain announced their lineup for the World Group playoff at home to Ukraine. He arrived in the Spanish capital early on Wednesday and after training at the “Magic Box” venue the 27-year-old was named in the team for Thursday’s draw by captain Alex Corretja.

“When I have been asked and have been free of injury I have always turned out to try to help the team win points and secure victories. I have been playing at the maximum intensity for practically a whole month and obviously that has a draining effect. But I am ready for tomorrow and it’s just going to require another little bit of effort. I hope to be competitive even though I have spent very few hours on the court,” Rafa said.

Fernando Verdasco will play Alexandr Dolgopolov in the opening singles, with the doubles to come on Saturday and the reverse singles on Sunday in the first meeting between the two nations.