World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could face off in the Davis Cup final this November, provided that both Italy and Spain advance through the final eight.
Both have been named in their respective nations’ squads for the Davis Cup Finals, which will take place from November 19-24 in Malaga, Spain.
Rafael Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, is part of the Spanish team, while Germany will be without this year’s French Open finalist Alexander Zverev. Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, meanwhile, did not make the cut for defending champions Italy.
The eight finalists — Italy, Argentina, the United States, Australia, Germany, Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands — announced their squads following the draw for the event, conducted on Monday, September 23.
Italy will play Argentina and the USA will play Australia in the top half, while Germany face Canada and Spain take on the Netherlands, in a possible rematch of the 2024 Paris Olympics doubles tie. Nadal and Alcaraz, dubbed ‘Nadalcaraz,’ won a match tiebreak against Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof after Koolhof near-singlehandedly dragged the Netherlands through another tiebreak to win the second set.
Sinner is accompanied by Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, and the specialist doubles pairing of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, this year’s U.S. Open mixed doubles champion alongside fellow Italian Sara Errani. Alcaraz and Nadal are supported by Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, and their own doubles specialist, Marcel Granollers.
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The USA, meanwhile, recall Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton, all of whom missed qualification in September after their U.S. Open exploits, in which Fritz reached the final. Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, who eliminated Nadal and Alcaraz from the Olympics in a display of doubles mastery, will hope to be a factor.
For Nadal, who pulled out of the U.S. Open and Laver Cup, it is his only current confirmed event for the rest of 2024. He remains ambiguous about the shape of his career through the year and into 2025, with no decision yet made on whether or not it will be his last. He has not played since the Games, in which he rallied in the second set of his singles match against Novak Djokovic to avoid being routed by his former rival at the peak of the sport.
The Davis Cup Finals will cross over with the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, also to be held in Malaga, between November 13-20.
Full Davis Cup Finals squads by nation
Argentina
Sebastian Baez
Francisco Cerundolo
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Maximo Gonzalez
Andres Molteni
Captain: Guillermo Coria
Australia
Alexei Popyrin
Jordan Thompson
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Max Purcell
Matthew Ebden
Captain: Lleyton Hewitt
Canada
Felix Auger Aliassime
Denis Shapovalov
Gabriel Diallo
Alexis Galarneau
Vasek Pospisil
Captain: Frank Dancevic
Germany
Jan-Lennard Struff
Yannick Hanfmann
Kevin Philipp Krawietz
Tim Puetz
Captain: Michael Kohlmann
Italy
Jannik Sinner
Lorenzo Musetti
Flavio Cobolli
Andrea Vavassori
Simone Bolelli
Captain: Filippo Volandri
Netherlands
Tallon Griekspoor
Botic van de Zandschulp
Jesper De Jong
Wesley Koolhof
Captain: Paul Haarhuis
Spain
Carlos Alcaraz
Roberto Bautista Agut
Rafael Nadal
Pablo Carreno Busta
Marcel Granollers
Captain: David Ferrer
USA
Taylor Fritz
Tommy Paul
Ben Shelton
Rajeev Ram
Austin Krajicek
Captain: Bob Bryan
(Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
