The former Spanish tennis player and director of the Davis Cup, David Ferrer gave an interview to EFE in which he reviewed the schedules of the competition, his favorites and the options of Spain.
tournament results
Spain lifted the Davis Cup in the first edition organized by Kosmos, in 2019. The following year the competition could not be played due to the coronavirus pandemic and, in 2021, the Russian Federation won, beating Croatia 2-0 in the end. This time, due to the indefinite suspension of Russia by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the champion will not be able to defend his title.
The crosses of this final phase of the Davis Cup are Australia-Netherlands (November 22), Spain-Croatia (November 23), Italy-United States (November 24) and Germany-Canada (November 24). The semifinals will be played on the 25th and 26th and the final on the 27th.
The one from Jávea explained that in this edition of the final phase of the competition, which will be held from November 22 to 27 at the Martín Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, the matches will not last until dawn as happened in 2019, when The new format was implemented by the company Kosmos.
He advanced who he sees as the favorite, commented on the feeling of playing a Davis Cup since he knows very well what it is to play the Davis Cup, since it is a competition that he won with Spain on three occasions: 2008, 2009 and 2011, he congratulated the city of Malaga as the venue for the Davis Cup in 2022 and 2023, claimed not to know anything about the venue in 2024, spoke about the fact that in this edition, for the first time, thanks to the agreement between Kosmos and Ecovidrio, the carbon footprint left by the competition, concluded about the life he has lived since 2019, the year of his retirement,
Davis Cup Schedule
“except Thursdaythat there will be a double day, the rest of the days there will be one eliminatory per day and that will propitiate that the parties do not extend until dawn. That happened to us the first year and now it has changed. The objective is that the teams can have a rest”.
Favorite to win the Davis Cup
“I consider that Spain, the United States and Italy are equally favorites, but these last two will face each other in the quarterfinals. Although Spain is also going to have a very complicated quarterfinal tie against Croatia. Italy arrives with players who are in a very good moment, such as Matteo Berretini (number 15 in the ATP ranking) and Jannik Sinner (12) Spain will have Carlos Alcaraz (1) and a second very consolidated player, such as Roberto Bautista ( 20) like Pablo Carreño (14) and that doubles is very important in the Davis Cup and, in this sense, the United States has a real great team”.
play davis cup
“The Davis Cup continues to be attractive for the best players. What happens is that the calendar is what it is and it is very tight. But the important thing is that historically it is a very important tournament. Playing for your country puts extra pressure on you and the repercussion of winning the Davis Cup only comes from winning a Grand Slam”.
Malaga as the venue for the final
“Ticket sales are going well, especially for the matches in Spain, which are already almost full. On the other hand, in the other parties they are working so that as many people as possible can also attend. From the first moment, the Malaga institutions were very interested in hosting the final phase and everything was coupled. To me, being Spanish, I’m excited that it’s in Malaga”.
Davis Cup 2024
“There is nothing decided about what can happen after 2024, although in the past there were reports that placed the final phase of the competition in the Middle East in the future. The Davis Cup is global, international, and of course it has to expand. But I wouldn’t know if it’s going to change, we’ll see.”
Ecoglass Project
“The Davis Cup has been working with Ecovidrio for the last three years and we try to make the tournament as sustainable as possible. In Malaga, a tennis court is being built with 22,000 kilos of recycled glass. I haven’t been able to see it yet and I’m curious to see it in person. The objective is to make the population aware of the importance of sustainability”.
His life as a former professional tennis player
“Since I retired three years ago there hasn’t been a day that I’ve missed competing. I live another stage of my life and I have a great time. Now I have another life being director of the Conde de Godó Trophy and director of the Davis Cup. I feel fulfilled, I like to learn and have another facet in my life related to tennis. Also, I’m still playing the Legends Cup and trying to stay in shape.”
