Davis Cup: These are the lineups of the 16 teams
On Monday, the 16 teams participating in the Davis Cup intermediate round announced their line-ups. While Alexander Zverev , Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic , among others, will play for their country, Rafael Nadal will not start.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Aug 16, 2022, 08:27 am
The Davis Cup is casting its shadow. From September 13th to 18th the intermediate round will take place in four European cities (Bologna, Valencia, Hamburg and Glasgow), through which the teams can qualify for the final round in Malaga (November 22nd to 27th).
The 16 participating teams announced their line-ups on Monday, with Alexander Zverev, Oscar Otte, Jan-Lennard Struff, Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz starting for Germany . Germany meets France, Belgium and Australia in Hamburg, the top two teams in each group secure their tickets for the final of the top eight teams.
Group A: Bologna
Croatia: Marin Cilic, Borna Coric, Borna Gojo, Mate Pavic, Nikola Mektic. Team Principal - Vedran Martic
Italy: Jannik Sinner, Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti, Fabio Fognini, Simone Bolelli. Team Principal - Filippo Volandri
Argentina: Diego Schwartzman, Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez, Horacio Zeballos, Maximo Gonzalez. Team Principal - Guillermo Coria
Sweden: Mikael Ymer, Elias Ymer, Jonathan Mridha, Karl Friberg, Andre Goransson. Team Principal - Johan Hedsberg
Italy is the big favorite in Bologna - not only because of the home advantage. Filippo Volandri can count on two absolute top players in singles with Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini, in doubles Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli should be seeded due to their victory at the Australian Open 2015. Croatia and Argentina are expected to fight for second place, with Sweden only having outside chances.
Group B: Valencia
Spain: Carlos Alcaraz, Pablo Carreño Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Marcel Granollers. Team Principal - Sergi Bruguera
Canada: Vasek Pospisil, Alexis Galarneau, Liam Draxl, Gabriel Diallo, Cleeve Harper. Team Principal - Frank Dancevic
Serbia: Novak Djokovic, Miomir Kecmanovic, Filip Krajinovic, Laslo Djere, Dusan Lajovic. Team Principal - Viktor Troicki
South Korea: Soonwoo Kwon, Seongchan Hong, JiSung Nam, MinKyu Song. Team Principal - Seungkyu Park
Although Rafael Nadal will not be present in Valencia, the Spaniards have an enormously strong team. The biggest challenger is probably Serbia, led by 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic. With both Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov missing for Canada, who are replacing the excluded defending champions Russia, a progression for the North Americans would border on a sensation. The same applies to South Korea.
Group C: Hamburg
France: Benjamin Bonzi, Adrian Mannarino, Arthur Rinderknech, Nicolas Mahut. Team Principal - Sebastien Grosjean
Germany: Alexander Zverev, Oscar Otte, Jan-Lennard Struff, Tim Pütz, Kevin Krawietz. Team Principal - Michael Kohlmann
Belgium: David Goffin, Zizou Bergs, Michael Geerts, Sander Gille, Joran Vliegen. Team Principal - Johan Van Herck
Australia: Alex de Minaur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Matthew Ebden, Max Purcell. Team Principal - Lleyton Hewitt
Not least because of the participation of Alexander Zverev, Germany can certainly be named as the hottest candidate for group victory. The strong doubles - consisting of Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz - as well as the home advantage underpin the role of favorites. Otherwise the group seems extremely balanced. Big absentee is Nick Kyrgios.
Group D: Glasgow
USA: Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Jack Sock, Rajeev Ram. Team Principal - Mardy Fish
UK: Cameron Norrie, Daniel Evans, Andy Murray, Joe Salisbury. Team Principal - Leon Smith (fifth player to be announced)
Kazakhstan: Alexander Bublik, Dmitry Popko, Mikhail Kukushkin, Andrey Golubev, Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Team leader - Yuriy Schukin
Netherlands: Botic van de Zandschulp, Tallon Griekspoor, Tim van Rijthoven, Wesley Koolhof, Matwe Middelkoop. Team Principal - Paul Haarhuis
With the USA and Great Britain there are two clear favorites in Group D, but last year's quarter-finalists Kazakhstan should not be underestimated.