By ASSOCIATED PRESS
MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were named to Spain’s roster for the Davis Cup Finals on Monday, Sept. 23, raising the possibility of a renewal of their “ Nadalcaraz ” doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion who is 38, hasn’t competed anywhere since the Paris Games, where he lost in the second round of singles to longtime rival Novak Djokovic and paired with Alcaraz to get to the quarterfinals of men’s doubles before exiting against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
Nadal then withdrew from the U.S. Open and the Laver Cup while still dealing with health issues that have limited him to competing only sparingly over the past two seasons.
Alcaraz earned the men’s singles titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career total to four at the age of 21.
Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinal round of the Davis Cup Finals, an eight-team event Nov. 19-24 in Malaga, Spain.
The other opening matchups are: defending champion Italy vs. Argentina; the United States vs. Australia; and Germany vs. Canada.
Italy will be led by No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January and the U.S. Open this month. The Italian roster also includes Lorenzo Musetti, a semifinalist at Wimbledon and bronze medalist at the Olympics.
The U.S. roster features Taylor Fritz, the runner-up to Sinner at Flushing Meadows, along with past major semifinalists Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, plus doubles specialists Krajicek and Ram.
The Italy-Argentina winner will face the U.S.-Australia winner in the semifinals, with the winners of Germany-Canada and Netherlands-Spain meeting in the other semifinal.
Italy won its first Davis Cup title since 1976 a year ago in Malaga.
