MADRID — Davis Cup defending champion Spain will play without injured Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer when it faces Germany in the quarterfinals.

Nadal was ruled out with knee tendinitis, which kept him out of the championship matches last year against Argentina. Ferrer is out with a muscle strain.

Fernando Verdasco will play Andreas Beck and Tommy Robredo will face Philipp Kohlschreiber in Friday's opening matches.

In Saturday's doubles, Verdasco returns to partner with Feliciano Lopez against Nicolas Kiefer and Mischa Zverev. Reverse singles on Sunday closes out the contest at the 12,000-capacity Puerto Banus bull ring.