Davis Cup: The week of the great absences
Some of the biggest names are missing from the 2022 Davis Cup final round, which will be held in Málaga, Spain, starting tomorrow Tuesday. that opens up opportunities for almost all nations.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Nov 21, 2022, 08:30 am
The ATP Finals 2022 showed one thing above all: If Serbia had qualified for the Davis Cup final round in Málaga, one should have assumed that Novak Djokovic would win his singles. That's how it was last year, when Djokovic's playmates didn't cover themselves with glory. And Serbia came to Madrid in the first place, but that was the end of the game against Croatia.
In 2022 the cards have been reshuffled. Because Djokovic also refrained from participating in the intermediate round in Valencia, and his national team then did not miss the quarter-finals. The currently best player in the world will be missing this week.
The same applies to the nominally best: Carlos Alcaraz, who will remain number one on the ATP charts, has already ended his season due to an abdominal muscle injury. After Rafael Nadal was never up for debate anyway, the Spaniards are missing two top ten players at home.
Anyone can annoy anyone
Speaking of which: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud will also be absent from the bel étage for lack of competent supporters, while Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev will be absent due to the political situation. So from the top ten: Taylor Fritz and Félix Auger-Aliassime. And for Fritz and his American colleagues, after the cancellations of Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner, there are really good prospects against Italy.
The favorite location overall? Not clear. The Dutch can annoy the Australians just as much as the Germans can annoy Canadians. It may also come down to the Croatians again, where a very motivated Borna Coric will come to Malaga. And with Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic brings a double to the start, which just barely missed victory in Turin. However, Croatia will play against hosts Spain. A victory for Cilic and Co. would dampen the mood right away.