One, two, three, four boats and serve. Direct point. Roberto Bautista He makes a small gesture of satisfaction and receives some very brief instructions from his coach, Daniel Gimeno. In the background, a silver salad bowl weighing 105 kilos presides over the final training session of Spain in the middle court Martin Carpena from Malaga before the day of its premiere in the finale at eight o’clock Davis cup, against Croatia.
A miniset between number one and two of the Spanish team, Pablo Carreno and Roberto Bautistafinished his training session this Tuesday, on a new track, in the corporate green color of Davisand very quickly, as the two players once again proved, having already won the title in 2019 on another hard surface, in Madrid Magic Box.
Like the track, the desire to get another Davis they are also renewed in each edition. For the Spanish team, it will be a challenge to do it without the two players who are ranked first in the world, Carlos Alcarazwounded, and Rafael Nadalwho this year gave up playing in the team’s main tournament.
“Playing as a team is more fun,” he said Carreno about his way of dealing Davis. No one will say this because of the seriousness that was breathed in the general rehearsal, the pre-opening training. With the man from Gijón, his coach, samuel lopez, helpful to bring the balls closer, to correct again the movement of the racket that has been done a thousand times. Not a smile, just concentration. The ones standing, empty and in the dark.
Sergi Bruguera, team captain, moved from one side of the court to the other to enjoy all the views. The rest of the team trained in another field, which was completed Marcel Granolles, Pedro Martinez and Albert Ramos. There are no clues as to who will form the doubles pair, if it is necessary to play the tie-break point against Croatia. Bruguera it will be revealed “at the last moment”. It is only known Pavic Matt Y luka mektic They will be formidable rivals, demanding the maximum. They came from being runners-up in the finals ATP of Turin. The more you can trick them, the better.
In Malaga the Spanish team is no longer ‘la Roja’: debuts the white color in his official kit and will dress like this in all his team competitions in 2023 and 2024.
During the competition there will be another visible change on the track: coolers and water bottles are missing. The Daviswhich has been flying the flag of sustainability for many years, will be the first tennis competition in Spain where all single-use plastic is avoided: several dispensers are located next to each bench for players to fill their glasses and drums. They will be distributed to Martin Carpena more than 27,000 liters and it is estimated that the use of 54,000 plastic bottles will be avoided.
One minute before the end of the training session of Spain The Australian team came to the track, managing the opening competition against Netherlandsfor its final heating. Bautista and Carreno they immediately cut short their little game and gave the field to the ‘aussies’ whom they were also looking forward to Davis: Despite being the second winningest team in history, with 28 titles, they haven’t won the salad bowl since 2003.
The shining salad bowl presides over the track like a great altar. A salad bowl that, with its base, weighs 105 kg, “that is, like a giant panda”, the organizers pointed out.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
