(Malaga) Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were named to Spain’s Davis Cup Finals roster on Monday, raising the possibility of a renewal of their “Nadalcaraz” doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics.
Nadal, 38 and a 22-time Grand Slam champion, has not competed since the Paris Games, where he lost in the second round of the singles to his long-time rival, Serbian Novak Djokovic.
He also teamed up with Alcaraz and the duo reached the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles before being eliminated by Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
Nadal then skipped the US Open and the Laver Cup, played over the weekend, as he continues to struggle with health issues that have forced him to play only sparingly in ATP tournaments over the past two seasons.
Alcaraz won the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July, bringing his career Grand Slam triumphs to four, all at the age of 21.
Spain will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, an eight-team competition that will take place from November 19 to 24 in Malaga, Spain.
The other opening matches will see Canada take on Germany, defending champions Italy take on Argentina and the United States take on Australia.
Canada and Spain could meet in the semi-finals.
Italy will be led by world number one Jannik Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January and the US Open earlier in September. The Italian team also includes Wimbledon semi-finalist and Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti.
The U.S. team includes Taylor Fritz, a finalist against Sinner at the U.S. Open, as well as Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and doubles specialists Krajicek and Ram.