Carlos Alcaraz will represent Spain at the 2025 Davis Cup Finals, hoping to win his nation a first title since 2019.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz’s great rival, Jannik Sinner, will not be competing at the Davis Cup Finals – he will take the extra week off to prepare for the Australian Open in January.
Italian Tennis President Angelo Binaghi, who has seen his country lift the title twice consecutively, reacted to Sinner’s decision on Monday.
As for Spain, they last won the Davis Cup in 2019, defeating Canada 2-0 in the final. This title marked their sixth in total and a first since 2011.
Rafael Nadal, who won all eight matches during the tournament, was named the Most Valuable Player.
Two years later, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz was selected to play in the Davis Cup for the first time.
Alcaraz said representing Spain at the Davis Cup would be a ‘childhood dream’
In 2021, Carlos Alcaraz was selected to play for Spain for the first time. The Spaniard would end up helping Spain defeat Romania 3-1 in their Davis Cup qualifying round, defeating Marius Copil 6-4, 6-3 in the second rubber.
Speaking in 2021 about his selection, Alcaraz described his disbelief at being called up to the Spanish squad, while also relaying his fond memories of Spain’s triumph in 2019.
As per TNT Sports, Alcaraz said: “Next up, I will be representing Spain in the Davis Cup Finals, which means everything to me; it is incredible.
“Representing your country in any field or competition is unbelievable. When I was told I was going to be in the team, I couldn’t believe it.
“It is a childhood dream of mine to be part of the Davis Cup team and I have great memories such as Ferrer’s match against Kohlschreiber in Valencia in 2018; that was crazy.
“I also have some good memories of the 2019 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid which was spectacular – full of emotions, with Rober (Bautista Agut), who left the tournament midway through because his father passed away, returning before winning his final match.
“On top of that, with Rafa winning epic singles and doubles matches, it was a spectacular Davis Cup that Spain really deserved to win. I remember screaming when Rafa won that last point in the final against Denis Shapovalov.
“This edition of the Davis Cup is going to be very exciting. Playing here in Madrid is going to be great, even if I still don’t know if I’m going to play. But I’m passionate about being surrounded with the atmosphere that we are going to have, and to be able to encourage my teammates.
“We have a great team: Pablo [Carreño Busta], Roberto [Bautista Agut], Marcel [Granollers] Feliciano [López] and me. Obviously, Rafa gives a huge advantage, but we have a very good team, and even if I do not play, it’s still super exciting because I will be enjoying the Davis Cup atmosphere and learning from my teammates.
“Rafa will be supporting us for sure, he will probably be sending us messages of encouragement, and I’m sure that he would love to be here. Hopefully, he will return to the courts very soon and be able to give his 100 per cent in Australia.”
Carlos Alcaraz was not selected to represent Spain at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals
Alcaraz was selected again for the 2022 Davis Cup group stage, where Spain faced South Korea, Serbia and Canada.
Alcaraz was defeated by Felix Auger-Aliassime during Spain’s 2-1 loss to Canada. However, he defeated Kwon Soon-woo during Spain’s 3-0 victory over South Korea. Spain also defeated Serbia 3-0.
Consequently, Spain finished second in their group and qualified for the Davis Cup Finals.
Alcaraz was absent from Spain’s 2022 Davis Cup Finals squad: Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, Albert Ramos Vinolas, Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers were selected.
Unfortunately for Spanish tennis fans, Spain were knocked out in the first round of the finals by Croatia. Roberto Bautista Agut lost to Borna Coric and Pablo Carreno Busta lost to Marin Cilic.
Croatia lost to Australia in the semi-finals. Australia were then defeated by Canada in the final.
