Davis appealed to his magic to overcome the absences

5,300 km from Qatar, where the soccer World Cup absorbs universal sports attention, an exclusive group of eight teams with only five players will play another world title even older, team tennis, from Tuesday to Malaga and crown a champion. with an old silver salad bowl known as the Davis cup.

The most expensive piece of crockery awaits its owner in the final stage inaugurated directly in the quarterfinals, with the losers of the clashes not guaranteed to go home. Australia-Netherlands (Tuesday), Spain-Croatia (Wednesday), United States-Italy and Germany-Canada (Thursday).

First circuit rackets like the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassimewith a great season finale (sixth in the world, three titles in October, semifinals in Paris and qualifying for the ATP finals), and the American taylor fritz (9th ATP, semifinalist in Turin) will serve as a claim for a competition that, however, comes at a high cost due to casualties. The magic of this competition, which has produced some of the most memorable moments in tennis history, should act as a counterweight.

Spain will not have number 1 and 2 in the world ranking, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, the first due to injury, the second by his own decision. Alexander Zverev will not be in Germany, neither Jannik Sinner nor Matteo Berrettini in Italy, nor Nick Kyrgios in Australia.

They did not qualify for this final eight nor Novak Djokovic’s Serbia or Cameron Norrie’s Great Britain.

And of all this his sum the last champion, Russia, he could not defend the crown because of the sanctions that burdened his country for the invasion of Ukraine. A surprising turn of events as Russian players compete on the professional circuit, even without their flag, and in fact Daniil Medvedev and Andrei Rublev have just played in the ATP finals and the latter reached the semifinals. Russia was the only country with two representatives in that Masters Cup.

Despite the losses of Alcaraz and Nadal, and helped by the fact that they are local, the Spanish team is looking to lift its seventh salad bowl supported by the rich experience of Pablo Carreno and Roberto Bautistawho are already champions in 2019, like the doubles player Marcel Granollers. Captain Sergi Bruguera also called Albert Ramos and Pedro Martinez to complete a selection that will have a first-rate challenge against Croatia on Wednesday.

The Croats have won the salad bowl twice, the first in 2005 and the second in 2018, which still has a home/away format, but they have played in three of the last five finals: 2016, 2018 and 2021. In the absence of the Russians , they can be unofficially considered the defending champions. Marin Cilic, Borna Coric and Borna Gojo are their individual assets, joined by a formidable doubles pairing that never expires, formed by Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic. This Sunday they were declared runner-up of the ATP finals.

Australiawith Alex de Minaur, and Netherlands, with the infallible Botic van de Zandschulp in the group stage before these finals, will fire on Tuesday at the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace, venue for all matches -hard surface-. The winner will see them in the semifinals with the winner of Spain-Croatia.

The other quarterfinal matches will be decided on Thursday, Italy-United States and Germany-Canada. The Italians, the best academy in the current men’s tennis, will miss Jannik Sinner, injured, to stop Taylor Fritz, already big but perhaps also tired after his participation in the ATP finals. The Masters Cup semifinalist is backed by Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Jack Sock, in search of a title they haven’t won since 2007. They have added 32, more than any other team, since the inaugural 1900 edition.

Filippo Volandri made his debut this season as Italian captain and kept his confidence in Fabio Fognini, a fixture in the team since 2008, and also bet on the promising Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti, 20, who is starting to be compared to Roger Federer for that ‘easy’ game that triumphs in the most compromised situations. Matteo Berrettini announced his departure at the last minute due to an ailment in his left foot and Volandri will not call anyone to replace him.

Canada he could win his first Davis Cup if Auger-Aliassime makes a point of his cautious performance in Turin, continues his good form and spreads his confidence to his teammates Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil. His first obstacle is a German team that, without Zverev, does not have a player in the world’s top 60. Oscar Otte, 65, who is making his debut this season in Davis, should lead in these conditions.

All matches will consist of two individual matches and, if necessary, one of the doubles, up to the best of three sets and with a tie-break. The first individual match pits the two lowest ranked players among the captain’s picks; the second, in numbers of one in each formation. The two finalist teams will automatically access the 2023 finals and the rest will have to play in the qualifying round.