This Davis Cup, whose format has evolved from year to year since 2019, will undoubtedly attract a few more curious people this year than usual. The final tournament of the famous international tennis competition begins this Tuesday, November 19 in Malaga, Spain, country of a certain Rafael Nadal who will be the attraction of the week, before retiring at the end of the competition. Beyond the Roja of the Taurus of Manacor, seven other teams and as many big names in world tennis will be present for five days of competition.
The formula: a “Final 8” with three matches per confrontation
At the end of the group stage, which took place in September, eight teams qualified for this final tournament. There are some beautiful people there. L’Spain of Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz (3rd in the world) will face the The NetherlandsTHE UNITED STATES of Taylor Fritz (4th) and Ben Shelton (21st) defied theAustralia d’Alex de Minaur (9e), Italy of Jannik Sinner (1st), Lorenzo Musetti (17th) and Matteo Berrettini (35th) will defend his title against Argentina by Sebastian Baez (27th), while the Canada will face on his side theGermany.
Starting at the quarter-final stage, this tournament will see each round played in three matches: two singles and one doubles.
The schedule: matches every day until Sunday
The quarter-finals will extend from this Tuesday, November 19 to Thursday, November 21. The first to enter the competition are the locals, those that everyone is waiting for: Spain, with Rafael Nadal who should be well aligned from the first single against Botic van de Zandschulp. This Wednesday, it will be the turn of Germany-Canada, then USA-Australia and Italy-Argentina on Thursday.
The first semi-final will be played this Friday, November 22, the second the next day, before the grand final this Sunday, November 24.
The favorites: Italy the best armed, Spain for the beautiful farewell to Nadal…
On paper, it is the Italian title holder who seems the most heavily armed to defend his crown. In singles, there will obviously be world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, accompanied by two other heavyweights on the circuit: Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Berrettini. For the doubles, the Italians are also well stocked, with the world No. 9 on the doubles circuit Andrea Vavassori and the No. 11 Simone Bolelli.
The United States, with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, will also have arguments to put forward. But it is obviously Spain, with its prodigy Carlos Alcaraz and the legend Rafael Nadal, modest 152nd in the ATP, which will be scrutinized by everyone. They will be accompanied by Pedro Martinez (41st), Roberto Bautista Agut (51st) and Marcel Granollers (4th in the world in doubles). A team that will be keen to perform to offer a worthy farewell to the legend “Rafa”.
