The US Open just ended, but the tennis season shows no signs of stopping. The Davis Cup group stage takes place this week in four cities. Many of the best tennis players will play in the tournament; read more about this in a separate article.
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However, of the top three in the world ranking, only one of their representatives will play in the Davis Cup. Daniil Medvedev, who is ranked third in the world rankings, obviously could not play, since the Russian national teams were suspended from all team tournaments. And on Wednesday, September 13, it became known that Medvedev would not play in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Series (UTS) exhibition tournament in Frankfurt, Germany. The event will take place from September 15 to 17.
The UTS, an international singles tennis league, was first held in 2020 due to the interruption of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its organizers were the famous coach Patrick Mouratoglou and the Australian tennis player Alexei Popyrin.
“The last two weeks have been very hard on me and my body, probably the hardest I’ve had on tour. It’s really disappointing because I wanted to play in front of you. I like this event and its format, that’s why I wish all the participants and organizers good luck,” Daniil is quoted in the competition’s press service.
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Carlos Alcaraz, second racket in the world, will not play the group stage of the Davis Cup either. This became known on September 9, a day after Alcaraz lost to Medvedev in the US Open semifinals in a tense fight. But Novak Djokovic will play in the tournament! The Serbian, who now leads the ATP rankings again, decided to help the national team, despite the busy schedule.
After the US Open, Djokovic flew to his native Belgrade, where celebrations in honor of his victory took place. Novak received an incredibly warm welcome from thousands of fans and was so emotional that he couldn’t hold back his tears. “A childhood dream came true. One day I was also among you and I celebrated,” Djokovic said.
Novak Djokovic
Photo: Nebojsa Parausic/IMAGO/TASS
The ceremony honored not only Djokovic, but also the Serbian basketball team. The team was one step away from gold, losing in the final against the Germans. Celebrating with the basketball players, Novak literally burst into tears:
And after expressing his emotions, Novak went to Valencia: in this city the matches of the Serbian team and its competitors in the group stage of the Davis Cup are held. He was received by the tournament director, Feliciano López:
According to Djokovic, he initially assumed that Alcaraz would not retire and hoped to play him. “The truth is that he expected to play with Carlos here in Valencia. He is a player I respect a lot. Whenever I faced him, we had very difficult matches. He is an incredible person and player. rafa first [Надаль], now Alcaraz – Spain has a great tradition in tennis. But I am from Serbia and these days I will do everything possible to beat Spain,” Tennis Up Date quotes Novak.
Who does Serbia play in the group?
First, of course, with the Spanish, hosts of Group C. In addition to Djokovic, Serbia will have Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic, Dusan Lajovic and Nikola Cacic, and Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina, Roberto Bautista Agut, Bernabé Zapata-Miralles compete for Spain Albert Ramos-Viñolas and Marcel Granollers. Also in this group are the Czech Republic, led by Jiri Lehechka, and the Republic of Korea.
How did you play the 1st round?
The first matches of this group were played on Tuesday, September 12. The Serbs, as expected, won all three matches against the Koreans: two in singles and one in doubles. And on Wednesday, September 13, the Spanish lost the match against the Czechs. Zapata-Miralles lost to Tomas Machac, Davidovic-Fokina to Legeczka, and Davidovic-Fokina and Granollers to Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek.
When will Djokovic play?
If everything goes according to plan, on Friday and/or Saturday. This is the schedule of the remaining matches in Group C:
September 14, Thursday Czech Republic – Republic of Korea
September 15, Friday Spain – Serbia
September 16, Saturday Serbia – Czech Republic
September 17, Sunday Spain – Republic of Korea.
