The presence of the number 1 in the quarterfinals against Kazakhstan puts the pull of the tournament in the capital to the test once Spain has been eliminated.
The passing shot backhand crossed Aslan Karatsev he found the line and was silent in the early hours of Monday at the Madrid Arena. Spain, combative in difficult circumstances, had lost to Russia and was not even going to have a chance to qualify as second in the group. The hexacampeones and defenders of the title won in 2019 said goodbye to the competition.
The departure of one of the hosts leaves a considerable gap in the Madrid headquarters, which on Sunday was practically full (only 75% of the capacity is enabled, just over 9,000 people). Fans are reluctant to witness this last tournament of the season live. In Turin the atmosphere did not even heat up with the first quarterfinal meeting, in which Croatia eliminated local Italy on Monday. In Innsbruck, where Germany and Great Britain met in the second quarterfinal crossing, matches are played without an audience due to Covid 19 restrictions.
It is expected that the capital of Spain will regain its pulse from this Wednesday, when the tournament will already have the Madrid Arena as the only venue, with the last two quarters, the two semifinals (Friday and Saturday) and the final on Sunday. Novak Djokovic arrived in the capital from Innsbruck on Monday, where Serbia managed to enter the quarterfinals as second in the group despite losing 2-1 to Germany. His rival (4:00 p.m., Let’s go) is Kazakhstan. The winner of 20 Grand Slam titles will be the big star.
Serbia’s classification hung by a thread until early Monday morning. If Spain had won the doubles match against Russia, both teams would have gone ahead to the detriment of the Balkans. Djokovic, unusual in this specialty, had joined the decisive doubles match with Nikola Cacicbut they both fell against the Germans Puetz and Krawictz. Nole He was also, in that case with Viktor Troicki, to defend their fate against Russia, in the quarterfinals of 2019. After letting three balls pass to reach the semifinals, the couple Rublev–Khachanov He overcame them in a passionate duel.
Although he resides in the tax haven of Monte Carlo, Djokovic has always exhibited patriotism and is one of the defenders of this new Davis Cup competition system, which facilitates the participation of the best, despite the fact that for different reasons this year they have only played five Members of the top 10. Far is the only Salad Bowl conquered by Serbia, against France, in 2010.
A grand finale
At 34 years old, and after some troubles in his extraordinary season, the champion in this 2021 Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon wants to put a climax that allows him to better metabolize the defeat in the final of the United States Open (Medvedev) and in the semifinals of the ATP Finals (Zverev).
Djokovic returns to Madrid Arena 13 years after losing to Ivo Karlovic in the round of 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open, in the last edition of the tournament that was played at this venue. In 2007 he had yielded in the semifinals against David Nalbandian and a year earlier in the quarterfinals against Fernando González.
Since his Davis Cup debut in 2004, he has played 30 heats, with a balance of 36 wins and seven losses in singles and three wins and five losses in doubles. Your last stumble like singlist date of 2011, against Juan Martin de Potro.
Djokovic, called to measure this Wednesday with the young man Alexander Bublik In the second of the singles, it is the best claim of a tournament whose final phase can be transferred to Abu Dhabi from 2022. A total of 16 teams would contest it, two less than so far, distributed in four groups of four. The preliminary phase would take place in four European venues and in the quarter-final matches the tournament would travel to the emirate, in the heat of the Arab capital.
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