The eight best teams will compete in the 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Knock-out stage in Malaga from 22 to 27 November.
Malaga is the new home of the Davis Cup Finals after the previous two editions held in Madrid in 2019 and 2021. The quarter finals start on Tuesday with the match between Australia and the Netherlands.
Two top ten players Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger Aliassime will headline the strong line-up.
Australia against the Netherlands – 22nd November
The Netherlands won the Group D last September in Glasgow. Botic Van de Zandschulp led the Dutch team by winning all of his three of his singles matches, including straight set victories against Cameron Norrie, Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz. Van de Zandschulp beat Diego Schwartzman in five sets at the US Open in 2021 to reach his first quarter final at Grand Slam level. He then lost to eventual US Open champion Danil Medvedev. He was the only player to take a set off Medvedev during the tournament. This year Van de Zandschulp reached the first ATP 500 semifinal of his career at Queen’s Club in London and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon. The Dutch team also features Wesley Koolhof, who is part of the world number 1 doubles team alongside Neal Skupski. The Netherlands is one of the two teams at this year’s Finals, along with Canada, that has never won a Davis Cup title.
The Dutch team will face Group B runners-up Australia in the Group B. The Australian team led by Lleyton Hewitt beat Belgium and France during the Group stage, but lost to Germany in Hamburg last September. Everyone in the five-man Aussie team with at least one win. De Minaur scored two singles wins against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi and Belgian David Goffin and has won eight of his last nine singles Davis Cup matches. Australia is chasing its first Davis Cup title since 2003.
The Australian doubles team will be formed by Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden, who won the Wimbledon title and reached the Australian Open final.
Croatia vs Spain 23rd November
This year’s US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will not play, but the Spanish team captained by Serg Bruguera will feature 2019 Davis Cup champion Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Albert Ramos Vinolas, Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers. Alcaraz has been forced to withdraw from the match due to an injury.
Bautista Agut was the only player to win three points for the Spanish team in Group B in Valencia against South Korea’s Seong Chen Hong, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and Canada’s Vasek Pospisil last September.
Spain will take on Croatia in a blockbuster quarter final match. Croatia, the highest ranked nation in Davis Cup and last year’s Davis Cup finalists, beat Argentina (3-0) and Sweden (2-1) in Group A in Bologna last September. This year’s Cincinnati Masters 1000 champion Borna Coric scored two singles wins against Mikael Ymer and Francisco Cerundolo.
Croatia will feature 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, Borna Coric, Borna Gojo and the doubles team formed by Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who reached the championships match at last week’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. Cilic won the Davis Cup title in 2018.
Spain has won all three previous ties against Croatia.
The winner of the match between Australia and the Netherlands will take on either Croatia or Spain in the semifinal.
Italy vs USA 24th November
The Italian team captained by Filippo Volandri won Group A in Bologna and will be one of the teams to beat in the Knock-out stage in Malaga despite the absence of 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini and four-time Grand Slam quarter finalist Jannik Sinner. The hopes of the Italian team are carried by Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego and the experienced doubles team formed by Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli, who have each played 28 Davis Cup matches. Musetti enjoyed his breakthrough season in 2022 winning two titles in Hamburg and Neaples and reaching his first Masters 1000 quarter final in Paris Bercy after beating Casper Ruud in the third round.
The US team finished second in group stage after wins over Great Britain and Kazakhstan and a defeat against the Netherlands. Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock scored two doubles wins against Great Britain and the Netherlands. The US team captained by Mardy Fish features Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and doubles specialist Jack Sock. Fritz won his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and Tokyo beating Tiafoe in the final and reached the semifinals at last week’s ATP Tour Finals in Turin. Tiafoe reached the semifinals at the US Open. Paul beat Rafael Nadal to advance to the quarter final at the Paris Bercy Masters 1000.
Germany vs Canada 24th November
Germany won Group C in Hamburg after winning all three ties in Hamburg against France, Australia and Belgium. Jan Lennard Struff won all of his three singles matches. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz scored four wins together at the 2021 Davis Cup finals and won all three of their decisive matches at the Group Stage last September.
Canada beat Spain 2-1 in a decisive Group stage tie with wins scored by Felix Auger Aliassime over Carlos Alcaraz (6-7 6-4 6-4) and the doubles team formed by Auger Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil over Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez (4-6 6-4 7-5).
Canada will feature both Auger Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov for the first time since the 2019 Davis Cup final, when the team led by Frank Dancevic finished runner-up to a strong Spanish team led by Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Auger Aliassime won four ATP titles this year in Rotterdam, Florence, Antwerp and Basel. Shapovalov finished runner-up to Danil Medvedev in the Vienna ATP 500 final.
The winner of the match between Italy and the USA will clash against either Germany or Canada in the second semifinal.
