Davis Cup, Day 2: The hosts face a high hurdle
Spain meets Croatia in the final round of the Davis Cup 2022 in Málaga from 4 p.m. today without Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal . The hosts should ideally win both singles. This and all other matches are available in the live stream on ServusTV On.
by Robin Huiber
last edit:
Nov 22, 2022, 02:15 pm
In the first edition of the new final format in the Davis Cup, things went according to plan for hosts Spain in 2019: under the leadership of Rafael Nadal, the Spaniards were able to win the title in the Caja Magica in Madrid. Last year (the final round was not held in 2020 due to the corona pandemic) things didn't go quite so well: The Russians with Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev prevailed in the Spanish capital in the final against Croatia.
And against exactly this Croatia it is now from 4 p.m. in Málaga for Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut and Co. The starting position could hardly be more balanced: In the top individual there are only four ranks in the ATP between Carreno Busta and the likely opponent Marin Cilic -World rankings (13 to 17), only five between Roberto Bautista Agut (21) and Cincinnati champion Borna Coric (26). Coric in particular, who has been plagued by injuries over and over again in recent years, seems to be really keen on the title.
Croatia last "regular" Davis Cup champion
In any case, the Croatians should enjoy an advantage in doubles: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic made it to the final at the ATP Finals in Turin just a few days ago. For the Spaniards, Marcel Granollers (three defeats alongside Horacio Zeballos in Turin) should get the nod. Possibly alongside Pedro Martinez, who showed in Kitzbühel this year that he is a formidable doubles player.
As is well known, the last championship of the Croatians was not that long ago: in 2018, in the last year of the usual staging of the davis cup, Cilic and Co. were able to assert themselves 3:1 against France in Lille.