Davis Cup finals begin with eight teams in search of glory
It will not be easy for the captain Sergi Bruguera because of the absences of Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, but he will try to make the pride of his players and the drive of the Malaga public an incentive to lift the famous Ensaladera.
Currently in Qatar is the football World Cup, at the same time another one will be played in Malaga, but tennis. The eight finalist countries of the 2022 edition of the Davis Cup are already in the capital of the Costa del Sol ready to duel.
The finalists include the two teams with the most trophies in history, the USA (with 32) and Australia (with 28), although most of them date from an era when not as many countries participated as now.
Two others who have never lifted the famous heavyweight Salad Bowl include Canada and the Netherlands. In between, Spain has done it six times (all since 2000), Germany three times, Croatia twice and Italy once.
Despite the importance of the event, injuries have meant that most of the teams have notable absences and the veto against Russia, the reigning champion, mean that only two players from the top 10 of the ATP - Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz - are currently in Malaga.
The format, simplified since the change in 2019, is simple: each round consists of a maximum of three best-of-three-set matches, each with a tie break (all played on indoor hard courts). The first match is played against the number two seeds of each team, followed by the number ones and, if necessary, the tie is broken in the deciding doubles match.
The quarter-finals get underway on Tuesday at 3pm with Australia-Netherlands. On Wednesday at the same time, it will be Spain's turn to take to the field against Croatia. And on Thursday it will be the turn of Italy-USA at 9am, followed by Germany-Canada at 3pm.
The semi-finals will be played over two days. On Friday the winners of the first two heats mentioned above will play each other and on Saturday the winners of the remaining two heats will face off, while the final will be on Sunday, November 27th at 12pm.
The players who will be defending their country's colours
Australia: Alex de Minaur (ATP No. 24), Thanasi Kokkinakis (95 and 18 in doubles), Max Purcell (33 in doubles) and Matthew Ebden (26 in doubles). Captain: Lleyton Hewitt.
Netherlands: Botic van de Zandschulp (ATP No. 35), Tallon Griekspoor (96), Tim van Rijthoven (109), Wesley Koolhof (one in doubles) and Matwé Middelkoop (22 in doubles). Captain Paul Haarhuis.
Croatia: Marin Cilic (ATP No. 17), Borna Coric (26), Borna Gojo (147), Mate Pavic (7 in doubles) and Nikola Mektic (10 in doubles). Captain Vedran Martic.
Spain: Pablo Carreno-Busta (ATP No. 13), Roberto Bautista-Agut (21), Albert Ramos-Vinolas (39), Pedro Martinez (62) and Marcel Granollers (16 in doubles). Captain: Sergi Bruguera.
Italy: Lorenzo Musetti (ATP No. 23), Lorenzo Sonego (46), Fabio Fognini (56 and 23 in doubles) and Simone Bolelli (21 in doubles). Captain: Filippo Volandri.
USA: Taylor Fritz (ATP No. 9), Frances Tiafoe (19), Tommy Paul (33) and Jack Sock (132 and 43 in doubles). Captain: Mardy Fish.
Germany: Oscar Otte (ATP No. 67), Jan-Lennard Struff (151), Yannick Hanfmann (140), Tim Pütz (17 in doubles) and Kevin Krawietz (25 in doubles). Captain Michael Kohlmann.
Canada: Felix Auger-Aliasimme (ATP No. 6), Denis Shapovalov (18 and 75 in doubles), Vasek Pospisil (115), Alexis Galarneau (214) and Gabriel Diallo (224). Captain Frank Dancevic.
