Carlos Alcaraz won’t be helping Spain in their upcoming Davis Cup qualifier against Denmark, despite just becoming the new world No. 1 after his US Open victory.
It’s becoming a pretty common story in tennis these days. The Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup just don’t fit well into the packed tennis calendar, which means top players often skip them.
Emma Raducanu recently pulled out of the Billie Jean King Cup too.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Now the men’s competition is facing the same problem. Alcaraz, fresh off his US Open win that pushed him back to the top of the rankings, has decided to sit out Spain’s qualifier tie.
Spain actually had to get through two qualifying rounds to reach this point. In their first match against Switzerland, Pedro Martinez kicked things off with a solid win over Dominic Stricker, taking it 6-4, 7-6(9).
Roberto Carballes Baena followed that up by beating Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-4.
The next day, Martinez teamed up with Jaume Munar in doubles. They beat Marc-Andrea Huesler and Stricker 6-4, 7-5, which was enough to send Spain through to the next round.
Spain won the tie 3-1 overall.
Denmark’s path was way more dramatic. They faced Serbia, and without Novak Djokovic in the Serbian lineup, nobody really knew what to expect.
Denmark found themselves down 0-2 early on. That’s usually game over in Davis Cup.
But they pulled off an incredible comeback, winning the tie 3-2 in what had to be one of the most exciting matches of the qualifying rounds.
Now Denmark gets their reward – a trip to Spain for the second qualifier. The matches are set for September 13th and 14th at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella.
They’ll be playing on outdoor clay courts, which definitely favors the Spanish team.
Originally, Alcaraz was supposed to lead Spain’s charge. But after his grueling US Open campaign, he’s chosen to take some time off instead.
He’s not the only Spanish player stepping away. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has also withdrawn from the team.
So team captain David Ferrer had to make some adjustments. The new Spanish lineup includes Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers, along with Jaume Munar, Roberto Carballes Baena, and Pablo Carreno Busta.
It’s basically the same team that beat Switzerland, minus Alcaraz.
Denmark is sticking with their winning formula. Holger Rune will be their star player, supported by Elmer Moeller, August Holmgren, Christian Sigsgaard, and Johannes Ingildsen.
Can Spain still win without their biggest star?
This tie is really going to come down to how Holger Rune plays. He’ll be the clear favorite in both his singles matches, and if he wins them both, Denmark only needs to steal one more point somewhere else.
Elmer Moeller and possibly August Holmgren will be underdogs against the higher-ranked Spanish players. But both have been showing real promise lately, so you never know.
Even if Rune wins his singles matches and his teammates struggle, there’s still the doubles. That could be Denmark’s path to the Finals if everything else goes wrong.
Spain’s chances have definitely taken a hit without Alcaraz. But they’ve got a more balanced team overall, which still makes them slight favorites going into the tie.
The timing is just really tough for players like Alcaraz. After grinding through the US Open and reclaiming the No. 1 ranking, it’s pretty understandable that he’d want some time to recover before the rest of the season.
But it definitely gives Denmark a much better shot at pulling off another upset.
