Alcaraz and Davidovich to Lead Spain in Marbella Against Denmark

Carlos Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovich from Málaga will lead Spain in the second round of the Davis Cup qualifiers against Denmark, scheduled for September 13 and 14 at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella (Málaga) on clay courts. The national coach, David Ferrer, has also called up Pedro Martínez and Marcel Granollers and is yet to name a fifth player to complete the team that will seek to advance to the final eight to be held in Bologna (Italy) in November.

Another new development is the addition of Olympic doubles champion Marc López to the coaching staff who will travel to Marbella to help prepare for the doubles match.

Alcaraz and Davidovich did not participate in the previous round against Switzerland held in February in Swiss territory, nor did Granollers. For that doubles match, Ferrer relied on Jaume Munar and Martínez, who also played singles along with Roberto Carballés. The captain appreciated the commitment of Alcaraz, world number two, and Davidovich, ranked 18th in the ATP: "I am very pleased with the commitment of the players and the enthusiasm of the team to pass the round against Denmark, which we know will be a tough opponent with Holger Rune, but we will face it in the best way possible.”

Of Alcaraz, he recalled his recent win at Roland Garros and being a finalist at Wimbledon, and of Davidovich, he noted his consistency. "I am very excited that they can be with us," the coach emphasized. Ferrer predicted that it will be a challenging round, although he noted that the first day, in which the first two singles matches will be played, will set a trend.

"If we start 2-0 or 1-1, we'll see how we can approach it to decide who can play the doubles. Both Carlos and Alejandro are key players to win these two matches," analyzed the former tennis player.

After the first two matches starting at 12:30 PM, the competition will resume on Sunday the 14th at 11:30 AM with the doubles match, followed by the last two singles. Spain will play a Davis Cup tie on clay after three years without stepping on their most favored surface. "Obviously, Rune also performs very well on clay, but the support of the public is fundamental, and that ultimately benefits us," he added.

Denmark, whose second key player is Elmer Møller, eliminated Serbia in the first stage of the competition, which was without Novak Djokovic due to injury.

Given their victory over Serbia and the quality of their players, Ferrer insisted that the Danish team will be a tough opponent, for which he showed his "utmost respect".

In this edition of the Davis Cup, the classic format has been reinstated, with home or away ties before the final in Bologna. Spain, which in recent editions had received an invitation from the International Federation to play the final phase as the host, faced Switzerland in a preliminary round for the first time in three seasons, having previously defeated Romania also in Marbella.