Tennis | Davis cup
The one from El Palmar will become the second youngest Spanish player to debut in the Davis Cup, if Bruguera gives him the alternative
Carlos Alcaraz is the great novelty of the Spanish Davis Cup team, a competition that will start this Thursday simultaneously in Madrid, Insbruck and Turin. At just 18 years and six months old, the Murcian tennis player could become the second youngest Spanish player in history to participate in the Davis Cup this weekend, after Rafael Nadal from the Balearic Islands. All eyes are on him in the capital of Spain. «In the few days that I have been here I am enjoying it to the fullest. The truth is that I am training quite well, and I am feeling very comfortable with the whole team. », Confessed yesterday the pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is with him these days in Madrid.
THE ELIMINATORIES
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Group A.
Spain, Russia and Ecuador. -
B Group.
Canada, Kazakhstan and Sweden. -
Calendar.
Spain-Ecuador, Friday (4pm). Spain-Russia, Sunday (4pm). -
Capacity.
The central court of the Madrid Arena can accommodate 9,135 spectators.
Alcaraz shares a dressing room with much more experienced players such as his close friend Pablo Carreño, Roberto Bautista, Feliciano López and Marcel Granollers. “As we are still in training and I have not been nervous, the truth is that they still have not given me advice,” said Alcaraz in an interview broadcast by the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET).
Bruguera’s trust
The Spanish captain Sergi Bruguera has repeated on several occasions that he has full confidence in him, and the young tennis player from El Palmar wants to reciprocate by providing “freshness and a little bit of innocence to the team”, in his own words. “Things have gone a bit fast this year, but it has been because of everything lived and the experiences accumulated throughout the season,” explained the current number 32 of the ATP ranking.
Alcaraz arrives at the Madrid event after winning the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where he was confirmed as the great revelation of world tennis this season. A 2021 in which he has won his first ATP title at Umag, in addition to adding a new ATP Challenger in Oeiras, and reaching the semifinals at the ATPs in Marbella, Winston-Salem and Vienna.
At the US Open, he also became the youngest player in the Open Era to compete in the quarterfinals after defeating the Hellenic Stefanos Tsitsipas, world number 3.
“I hope I can debut winning and with the stadium full,” says the Murcian before the match against Ecuador
As the culmination of an unforgettable year, he has the opportunity to make his debut in the Davis Cup, and to do it at home: “I hope I can make my debut winning and with a full stadium,” he admits. There are still seats for Spain’s debut at the Madrid Arena, this Friday against Ecuador (4:00 pm). “What I want is for the rival to think that it is going to be difficult, that they will have to run and sweat a lot to be able to win. Make him feel a little scared in Madrid, “he said.
Junior Davis title
Emilio Gómez (148 in the world), Roberto Quiroz (291), Diego Hidalgo (579), Cayetano March (700) and Gonzalo Escobar (746) make up the Ecuadorian team for this Davis Cup. Much more fearsome is the Russian team, which will compete in Madrid with Daniil Medvedev (2), Andrey Rublev (5), Aslan Karatsev (18), Karen Khachanov (29) and Evgeny Donskoy (173). They are favorites.
Alcaraz already has a Junior Davis Cup, won in 2018, on his track record. «It was a very good moment and it helps you know how to play as a team. But this is another world. What is coming is completely different, “he recalled.
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