Snapshot: Davis Cup 2012 World Group draw

Spain will play host to Kazakhstan in the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup. (Eric Gay/AP)

The draw for the 2012 Davis Cup World Group competition was completed Wednesday in Bangkok, and if there's one first-round matchup that made people's eyes widen, it's Switzerland's hosting the United States.

Obviously, the initial thought is whether Roger Federer will make himself available for a tie that will be contested two weeks after the Australian Open. And, with the rejiggered 2012 schedule that includes the London Olympics, Federer could opt to sit out of Davis Cup given Switzerland's potentially difficult road to the Davis Cup finals -- a path that starts with the U.S., then likely France in the quarters, Spain in the semis and Serbia or Argentina in the finals. If Federer wants that Davis Cup trophy, this is going to be a tough year to do it.

Will Switzerland pick a quick hardcourt or red clay? The former would be a "my better is better than your better" move, while the latter would surely negate the big-serving American advantage. It would also inconvenience the Swiss a bit, asking Federer and Stan Wawrinka to go from the Aussie hardcourts to a weekend tie on clay and then get back to preparing for the spring North American hardcourt season.

In addition to the U.S. vs. Switzerland tie, Serbia-Sweden and Canada-France should both be interesting (is ice a legal surface?), assuming that Swede Robin Soderling is back to 100 percent by then and that the young Canadians, led by Milos Raonic, are up to the task.

Here's a complete list of first-round World Group ties. Sound off in the comments and let us know what ties you're most excited for.

• Spain will host Kazakhstan

• Austria will host Russia

• Canada will host France

• Switzerland will host the USA

• Czech Republic will host Italy

• Serbia will host Sweden

• Japan will host Croatia