Australian Open champion Marat Safin [Images] will lead Russia [Images] in next month's Davis Cup World Group opening round tie against Chile.

Russia, champions in 2002, named an unchanged line-up from last year's relegation playoff against Thailand to face the resilient South Americans.

In addition to an in-form Safin, Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev has also called up Australian Open quarter-finalist Nikolay Davydenko, 2002 Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev for the March 4-6 tie at Moscow's [Images] Olympic Sports Arena.

Youzhny, who clinched Russia's first Davis Cup title in 2002 by coming from two sets down to beat France's [Images] Paul-Henri Mathieu in the decisive fifth rubber, has been suffering from a nagging knee injury, but Tarpishchev said he would be fit.

"We only have four guys and Youzhny is one of them. I'm sure he'll play if we needed him," the Russian captain said.

Tarpishchev also said the home team would have the added advantage of playing on a fast indoor surface.

"We know that Chileans, like all South Americans, like slow surfaces so we'll make it super fast, even faster than we have at our annual Kremlin Cup tournament," he said.

"We're the home team so we have to make it count. I'm sure they would have done the same thing to us if we played them on their turf."

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