Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz have been named to Spain’s roster for the Davis Cup Finals, sparking excitement over a potential revival of their “Nadalcaraz” doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t played since the Paris Games, where he fell to longtime rival Novak Djokovic in the second round of singles. He and Alcaraz reached the men’s doubles quarterfinals before being ousted by Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
Following that, Nadal withdrew from both the U.S. Open and the Laver Cup as he continued to grapple with health issues that have kept him from competing consistently over the past two seasons.
Alcaraz earned men’s singles titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July, raising 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 set for Nov. 19-24 in Malaga, Spain.
The other opening matches are defending champion Italy vs. Argentina; 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 a 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, while the winners of Germany-Canada and Netherlands-Spain will meet in the other semifinal.
Italy won its first Davis Cup title since 1976 a year ago in Malaga.
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