Argentina
will play the
Davis Cup
Finals again after two years and already knows what its route will be in the group stage in
Manchester
, in which it will seek to qualify for the
playoffs
that will define the champion of this edition in November.
The Albiceleste team will debut against
Canada
on Tuesday, September 10, in the duel that will open
Group D
at the
AO Arena
in that British city. On Friday the 13th he will face the local team and on Saturday the 14th he will close against
Finland
. All matches will be played at 9 in Argentina.
Those led by
Guillermo Coria
earned a place in the group stage by beating
Kazakhstan in February in the
Qualifiers
series
that was held in
Rosario
, which they had arrived as a large favorite, with three singles in the top 30 and one doubles consolidated and in a great moment. But at the
Jockey Club
in the city of Santa Fe, they suffered more than necessary, were on the verge of defeat several times and ended up sealing the victory in the
tie break
of the last
game
of the fifth point.
On the first day,
Francisco Cerúndolo
(then 22nd in the world) opened with a 7-5 and 6-2 against
Dmitry Popko
(338th) and
Tomás Etcheverry
(28th) fell 64 and 7-5 against
Timofel Skatov
(278 °).
Máximo González
and
Andrés Molteni
, 13th in the doubles ranking, had to work hard to tip the balance in favor of the albiceleste team in the doubles that they beat 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 and 6-0. Popko and
Aleksandr Nedovyesov
at the start of the second day of competition. Skatov then surprised Cerúndolo, beating him 7-6 (7-1) and 6-4. And
Sebastián Báez
(25th) walked along the ledge against Popko on the last point before signing an agonizing victory 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6 (8-6).
The victory allowed Argentina to get into the top 16 of the competition and qualify for the Finals, which it had played for the last time in 2022. On that occasion it traveled to
Bologna
, where it suffered three defeats against
Sweden
,
Italy
and
Croatia
.
Last year, they lost the Qualifiers in Espoo with
Finland
and had to play for permanence in September. And they avoided relegation by defeating
Lithuania
with authority in the
Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis
.
Group D
Argentina will face Canada on Tuesday, September 10 in Manchester. Finland will open against the hosts Great Britain.
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— Davis Cup (@CopaDavis) April 18, 2024
The only time the blue and white team played in the playoffs was in 2019, in the first edition of the new format introduced by the
Kosmos
group led by
Gerard Piqué
. Argentina, champion in 2016, received a special invitation and entered directly into the quarterfinals, in which they lost to
Spain
.
How is your record against the three rivals you will face in Manchester? Against Canada, which defeated
South Korea
in Montreal in February without its best players, the Argentine team is 2-1 up, although the last match was 23 years ago, in the semi-finals of the American Zone in Córdoba, with local triumph.
With Great Britain, which received a
wild card
for the group stage, the advantage in favor of the national team is greater: 4-1. And the most recent precedent is still fresh in memory: it was that victory in Glasgow in the 2016 World Group semi-finals, the year of the historic consecration.
And with Finland, who beat
Portugal
in Turku with
Emil Ruusuvuori
at the helm, the head-to-head is tied. Argentina won the first series they played in 1960 in Helsinki. And the Scandinavians, the second, last year in Espoo.
Match schedule for the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Finals 👀
What is your tie?#Davis Cup pic.twitter.com/Q37ZWr08Ik
— Davis Cup (@CopaDavis) April 18, 2024
“We are happy, satisfied; You had to avoid traveling to China. We are going to play in Manchester, a beautiful city, where we are going to face three tough countries, with several players who play well in singles and doubles. In this instance, everyone is very tough," Guillermo Coria had commented shortly after the group draw held a little less than a month ago.
Bologna
,
Valencia
and
Zhuhai
will be the venues for the other three groups in this stage.
In the Italian city, for A, the local team, defending champions, the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil will play. In Spain, for B, the home team, Australia, runner-up last year, France and the Czech Republic, a very tough area. And in Asia, through C, China, Germany, Slovakia and the United States.
The first two from each zone will advance to the final phase, which will be held from November 19 to 24 in Malaga.