Alcaraz needed to beat Zverev and hope to keep his pulse steady at the ATP Finals. Neither the first nor the second happened. The German wants to reduce the successful gap opened by the Spaniard and Sinner with the rest of the tennis players. In Turin, he took a firm step in this direction, intimidating to say the least. Solid on serve, dangerous with the backhand and precise with the forehand, he beat Carlitos who left early for the airport.
On his diary, the flight to Malaga was only scheduled for Monday, but the premature elimination forced him to pack his bags in advance. He got up early this Saturday, early in the afternoon, to arrive on the Costa del Sol and join the rest of the members of the Spanish Navy to prepare for the Final 8 of the Davis Cup.
Thus, David Ferrer, captain of the Spanish team, already has all his members in the Andalusian city. Marcel Granollers, world number 1 in doubles, trained this Saturday with the rest of the Spanish team. From 4:00 p.m., Roberto Bautista and Rafa Nadal will once again set foot on the central court of the Martín Carpena.
Alcaraz is participating in a special tournament for him. When I was a child, I dreamed of winning the Davis Cup for Spain. This year we have a very special opportunity to win it. But I think it’s more important for Rafa, because it’s his last tournament. I want him to retire with a title. It’s going to be very, very emotional and a very special tournament for me,” he said.
Hello Carlitos! 🫡#DavisCup | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/ll8WYtFMGP
– Davis Cup (@CopaDavis) November 16, 2024
Nadal arrived in Malaga before Alcaraz
The last page of Rafa Nadal’s bestselling book is beginning to be written. His arrival in Malaga confirms this. It’s the beginning of the end for him. The Costa del Sol will be the scene of the Davis Cup during which he will hang up his racket, his last tournament in its history.
The Balearic tennis player arrived last Thursday in the Andalusian city accompanied by Carlos Moyá, his coach, from Mallorca, where he is training at his Manacor Academy to prepare for the assault on what would be his sixth Saladera. Rafa was received by Feliciano López, his former teammate and current director of the Men’s Tennis World Cup Final.
Aside from two exhibition matches at the Six Kings Slam, he has not competed in an official tournament since he did so at the Paris Olympics. One of the individual parties is for Alcaraz and, for the last, Bautista is the main candidate. It is possible that their performance is double, with Granollers, where this could be the decisive point in the event of a tie.
