After having played this weekend the matches corresponding to the group phase, the final phase of Davis Cup 2022 returns this year stronger than ever, taking place between November 22 and 27 in the Andalusian city of Malaga. This tournament will land before us with the eight best teams in search of the conquest of a new salad bowl. Despite having the best selections on the current scene, not all stars will have a place at this party. Some because their country is not classified and others because they did not even have a chance to qualify because they were in lower divisions. Next we are going to review the great absences in this edition, perhaps a little decaffeinated:
Novak Djokovic: For fans of good tennis, this loss is the one that hurts us the most. Novak Djokovic whenever he has been able has played with his team this tournament. He managed to be a winner in 2010 and also managed to be a finalist on another occasion. He gave everything for the team and even played singles and doubles matches on the same day with little rest. Djokovic’s record in this competition is impeccable and after having decided not to play in this group stage in Valencia, his team could not do their homework, being surpassed by Canada and Spain.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev: The decision by the ITF to prohibit the participation of the Russian team in this tournament has meant that two great stars of this sport cannot be in this final phase of the Davis Cup. Everything indicates that in 2023 things will not change for the moment.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud: These are two very sad cases. Greece and Norway are far from being able to fight for a place in this tournament. Both are names that the organization did not have in mind to come in the month of November. This type of selection has the handicap of having only one elite tennis player in your ranks, and in case of non-appearance, the chances of victory are practically nil. Still, this week we have seen them help their respective teams through their respective qualifiers against Tunisia (World Group II) and India (World Group I), respectively.
Andy Murray: A fixture in this competition. His love for his country and for this competition has made him a fixture when injuries have spared him. The discreet performance of his team in this group stage has caused the British team to be eliminated, being surpassed by the Netherlands and the United States. Without a doubt, a blow for Murray who has admitted to being very sad about what happened this weekend.
Diego Schwartzman: What is a Davis Cup without Argentina fighting for the title? Another failure for the albiceleste that for the second consecutive year will not fight for the salad bowl. On this occasion, she could do nothing to stop teams like Italy, Croatia or Sweden, leaving Bologna with a balance of zero wins and three losses in her locker. The poor form of Diego Schwartzman and the inexperience in this competition of players like Baez or Cerúndolo has caused this catastrophe to occur.
In addition to all these mentioned, we must highlight other names that will not be in this Davis Cup such as Hubert Hurkacz, Cameron Norrie, Holger Rune, Grigor Dimitrov o Karen Khachanov, among others. We will also have to keep an eye on whether players like Rafael Nadal or Alexander Zverev will be in the final phase in November.
