Spain are preparing to defend their title in the Davis Cup Finals without Rafael Nadal, their eyes on the teenager considered his heir.
Carlos Alcaraz, 18, will draw attention when Spain face Ecuador on Friday. Spain is trying to win the revamped edition of the tournament again, two years after its coronation, the tournament having taken a hiatus due to the pandemic. Whoever just won the ATP Next Gen Finals will compete in the Davis Cup for the first time. His playmates Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos-Vinolas are both over 10 years old.
“It means a lot to me to represent Spain in the Davis Cup for the first time,” said the 32e world racket. When the captain told me I was going to play it, I couldn’t believe it. To be able to realize a childhood dream at 18 is very special. “
Nadal had not suffered the singles and doubles defeat when Spain captured the title in 2019, but the winner of 20 Grand Slam tournaments will not be in the game this year due to an injury to the left foot which forced him to end his season prematurely.
“It’s true that we had a big advantage. If you have Nadal in your roster you automatically become favorites because he’s the best player in tournament history, said Spain captain Sergi Bruguera. He’s not here, and we don’t have to think about him. We still have a very good team. Four players were there in 2019, so they’re ready to go. We are also counting on a new young star who brings a lot to our team. “
Russian domination
Alcaraz is crowning an impressive season in which he reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows and beat top-10 players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini.
Spain will not have it easy if they want to keep their title. The other team in Group A, Russia, has two top-10 players in Daniil Medvedev (no 2) and Andrey Rublev (no 5). Karen Khachanov, silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, and Aslan Karatsev, semi-finalist at the Australian Open, complete the training.
“It’s the strongest team,” admitted Bruguera. The fullest team with Medvedev, the hottest player at the moment. She will be our biggest rival. “
The Spanish team had to replace Roberto Bautista Agut, 19e to the world, at the last minute by Ramos-Vinolas (no 45) due to an abdominal injury.
The 18-team tournament was fully played in Madrid in 2019. This time, matches will also be held in Innsbruck, Austria, and Turin, Italy. The competition was extended to 11 days following criticism from players about games being too late in the evening and the lack of rest time between games.
The tournament is played on a hard indoor court, and each match is a best-of-three with two singles and a double on the schedule.
The six group winners and the two second-place teams with the best record will advance to quarters.