Malaga tennis star Alejandro Davidovich, currently ranked 25th in the world, has unexpectedly become the number one player on the Spanish Davis Cup team. This comes after Carlos Alcaraz officially withdrew from playing in the group stage in Valencia having been hampered by minor leg muscle discomfort during the US Open. Ultimately, he was eliminated in the semi-finals after defeat to Russian Daniil Medvedev on Saturday. In addition to Alcaraz, the Spain team must also cope with the absences of both Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreño, who are both outside the top 100 due to inactivity.
Ramos called up
As a result of Alcaraz’s withdrawal, the Spanish Tennis Federation announced that Albert Ramos, a 35-year-old veteran from Barcelona, would take his place for the games taking place from Tuesday to Sunday this week. Ramos has had previous experience in the Davis Cup, having been part of the squad in last year’s Finals in Malaga and achieving good results in 2023. His late inclusion means that the Spanish Davis Cup team now consists of Davidovich, Ramos, Roberto Bautista (ranked 42nd despite being sidelined since mid-July with an ankle sprain), Bernabé Zapata (ranked 75th) and doubles specialist Marcel Granollers.
A challenging road to Malaga
Spain was expected to have a relatively smooth path to the Finals in Malaga, but with these setbacks, their journey has become more challenging. They will face the Czech Republic, Serbia and South Korea in the group stage matches this week, with only the top two teams from each group advancing. If successful, they will play in the Final 8 to be held at Malaga’s Martín Carpena arena from 21 to 26 November.
Source : SURINENGLISH
