The Davis Cup finals are one month away. The oldest team tournament in tennis will hold its 108th edition in Madrid, Spain. Team captains for the competing countries are finalizing their selections for the players who will compete at the tournament. The tournament will debut a new competition format at the finals this year.
The Davis Cup new Format
Qualifying for the Davis Cup finals in Madrid began in February. Twenty-four nations competed for twelve qualification spots. Apart from the twelve nations which qualified, the four semifinalists from last year’s cup will play as well as two wild card teams. Eighteen countries will compete for the trophy in Madrid. The teams are in six groups with every group having three teams. The teams will play each other in a round-robin format. The winner in each group will qualify for the quarterfinals as well as the two teams with the best winning percentage. Teams will face each other in the knock-out stages and the winner will be determined in the final.
When Team USA won the Davis Cup
The United States has won the most Davis Cup finals. America has won the trophy 32 times with its last victory coming in 2007. Team captain, Mardy Fish, has named the five players who will represent the country in Madrid. The team will comprise of Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, Sam Querrey, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. They are all under 22-years and are the next generation of players in America’s rich tennis history. Their team captain is excited about their potential. One notable absentee from the team is John Isner. He is currently the highest-ranked American player in the ATP rankings. John declined to play in the Madrid finals citing personal commitments. Mardy said that he talked to Isner had understood his reasons. He committed to play for the team if they qualify for the finals in 2020.
Team USA will play in Group F against Italy and Canada. The Davis Cup finals begin on 18th November and end on 24th November. Organizers are anxious to see how exciting the finals will be after the latest changes. There has been some criticism about the tournament’s new format. Some fans preferred the old format and wanted to preserve the tradition of the event. However, organizers felt that some changes were necessary following the emergence of new team competitions like the Laver Cup and the ATP Cup which begins next year.
Harry Fritz in Basel, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.31, Harry Fritz has a 37-26 win-loss record in 2019. The American is now competing in Basel where he beat Alexander Zverev 7-67 6-4.
Harry Fritz will square off with De Minaur in the 2nd round. The head to head is 2-0 for De Minaur.
The last time that they played each other, De Minaur won 6-3 7-62 in the final in Atlanta in 28th July 2019.
Harry Fritz has won 2 titles in 2019 in the Newport Beach Challenger and in Eastbourne. Taylor was the finalist in Atlanta and in Los Cabos.
Opelka in Basel, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.37 (career-high), Opelka has a 35-23 win-loss record in 2019. Opelka is playing at the moment in Basel where he defeated Christian Garin 7-65 7-610.
The American conquered 1 title in 2019 in New York.
Taylor Harry Fritz and Reilly Opelka played each other 6 times. The head to head is 4-2 for Harry Fritz.
The last time that they played, Reilly Opelka won 6-3 6-4 in the 1st round in Tokyo in 01st October 2019.
Here the highlights.
Taylor Harry Fritz and Reilly Opelka |
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