Carlos Alcaraz has been named in Spain’s Davis Cup squad for their Qualifiers group that will see them take on Australia, Czechia and France and this time, he may feel under pressure to play.
The ITF has confirmed the players nominated to represent their nations at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, taking place from 10 to 15 September.
Wimbledon champio Alcaraz will represent Spain in Valencia (Group B), with World No.1 Jannik Sinner set to lead defending world champions Italy in Bologna (Group A).
Other nominations include Alex de Minaur (Australia), Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada), Ugo Humbert (France), Sebastian Baez (Argentina), Jack Draper (Great Britain), Sebastian Korda (USA) and Jiri Lehecka (Czechia).
The cities of Bologna (Group A), Valencia (Group B), Zhuhai (Group C) and Manchester (Group D) will host the Group Stage events, where four teams will play in a round robin format at each venue.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the Final 8 in Malaga (19-24 November), where they will play in a knockout competition for the right to be crowned world champions.
The ties are scheduled to take place the week after the US Open ends, which is why Alcaraz’s participation may be in doubt.
If the world No 3 gets to the semi-finals or the final in New York, he will need to fly from America to Valencia quickly to get onto court and play for his country.
Yet Spain captain David Ferrer will be hoping his star man is present, as Spain face a daunting group as they look to qualify for finals that will be staged in Malaga, Spain, in November.
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Hosts Spain were missing from the line-up in Malaga last year, as Jannik Sinner led Italy to a memorable Davis Cup win with a win against Australia in the final.
Now Spain has the task of overcoming a Australian side led by Alex de Minaur, while they will also face a strong France team led by Ugo Humbert and including rising stars Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The final team in Spain’s group for the Qualifiers will see Jiri Lehecka, Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik lead a strong Czechia side in what is the strongest group at this stage of the competition.
Without Alcaraz, it would be hard to see Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers winning the two matches they would need to qualify for the Malaga finals.
Ferrer left Alcaraz out of his squad for the Davis Cup Qualfiers last September, as he was keen to give the young star time to recover after the US Open.
“My job is to get the best out of those who put in the effort, I can’t do much more,” said Ferrer last year.
“This is the calendar and we must accept it. I hope that the best players always go to the national team.”
Alcaraz also explained his decision to skip Spanish Davis Cup duty with a statement on his social media platforms.
“I would have loved to play in the Davis Cup in Valencia, but I have to listen to my body after such a long season,” he said last year
I need to recover physically and mentally. The calendar demands a lot, I need to regain my strength.”
Alcaraz play for Spain in the Olympic Games that get underway later this month and it looks like he will also be playing for Spain later this year as they push for a place in the Davis Cup Finals.
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