The group stages of the 2024 Davis Cup final rounds are underway from September 10 to September 15. The top 16 nations have qualified for the finals stage and will battle each other in a team-format event, to win the biggest and most prestigious international trophy in tennis for their countries.
Italy, Spain, and USA make winning starts:
Defending Champions Italy started their Finals campaign without two of their key players who were instrumental in last year’s victory, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti. However, they were able to make a winning start against Brazil.
32-time champion USA started their 2024 Finals campaign with a 3-0 win over Chile. However, all three matches in the tie were extremely close and went the full distance of three sets.
Spain started their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Czech Republic.
Italy Defeats Brazil in Davis Cup Group Stage Opener:
For the Italians, Matteo Berrettini immediately secured a victory against Fonseca. Then it was Matteo Arnaldi’s turn, who won against Monteiro in the third set after more than 3 hours of play. 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 in favor of the Italian who also risked losing but in the end managed to bring home a complicated match and give Italy a 2-0 victory over Brazil. In the doubles match, Bolelli and Vavassori will play.
Alcaraz helps Spain to win over Czechia:
Carlos Alcaraz and Tomas Machac were locked at a set apiece Wednesday when the 23-year-old from the Czech Republic was forced to retire due to cramps in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage clash. Roberto Bautista Agut won the opening singles match against Jiri Lehecka 7-6(1), 6-4, ensuring that Spain would later secure a 2-0 win against the Czech Republic in Group B action.
Alcaraz dropped the opening set 6-7(3) but fought back to level the match with a convincing 6-1 second set. Machac retired in the opening game of the deciding set after one hour, and 38 minutes of play in Valencia. When Machac could not continue, he hunched over his knees and struggled to walk towards the net. Alcaraz warmly embraced his opponent.
US dominates Chile to kick off quest for 33rd title:
The United States made light of the absence of several top singles players as they began their Davis Cup Finals group stage campaign with a victory over Chile on Wednesday.
Reilly Opelka and Brandon Nakashima both came through lengthy three-set battles to give their team a winning lead in the Group C opener in Zhuhai, China.
Olympic doubles silver-medallists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek then beat Matias Soto and Tomas Barrios Vera to wrap up a 3-0 victory and join Germany at the top of the table.
Captain Bob Bryan was unable to call upon the likes of US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, or Tommy Paul but his team showed its strength in depth to win a tricky tie.
