Holders of the trophy, the Russia of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev is excluded from the team competition due to the invasion of Ukraine, as for its female counterpart, the Billie Jean King Cup (ex-Fed Cup) .
The eight teams qualified at the end of the group stage organized in mid-September in four European cities will meet in Andalusia: Spain, Croatia (outgoing finalist), Canada, United States, Italy, Australia, Germany and Down.
It is the first time since the abandonment of the historic Davis Cup format in 2019 that the two stages of the new imagined final phase have been separated.
To discover
Davis Cup: Schedule and results
Nadal and Djokovic absent from the entire 2022 campaign, and Alcaraz injured (abdominal tear in early November), the only two representatives of the top 10 expected in Malaga are Félix Auger-Aliassime (6th), for Canada, and Taylor Fritz ( 9th), for the United States.
Two of the players in form at the moment, but who risk arriving out of breath: the first was titled three times in three weeks in October, the second was invited to the semi-finals of the Masters on Saturday.
Read alsoDavis Cup: France eliminated from the group stage
If the energy does not fail them at the end of the season, "FAA", associated with Denis Shapovalov (18th), and Fritz, with Frances Tiafoe (19th), semi-finalist of the US Open in September, have the means to lift the Silver Salad Bowl.
Like the Croatia of Marin Cilic (17th), the only Grand Slam winner engaged.
Canadians and Americans will face each other in the semi-finals on the condition of dismissing Germany and Italy respectively, with Matteo Berrettini but without Jannik Sinner, in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
On the other side of the table, Australia are opposed to the Netherlands in the opener on Tuesday (from 4:00 p.m.), and Spain to Croatia the following day.
At home, but at the same time as the entry into the running of "Roja" at the World Cup in Qatar, against Costa Rica.
“It is sure that I would have preferred to be N.2 or N.3 Spanish because they would have been ready to play, we are stronger with them”, admits Pablo Carreno (13th), propelled Spanish N.1 in the absence of Alcaraz and Nadal, N.1 and N.2 in the world.
"But I think we can play a very good tournament with Roberto (Bautista, 21st), and why not win it again, like in 2019."
“We are lucky to have other players at the level to win,” confirms Spanish captain Sergi Bruguera.
Each match, until the final on Sunday, consists of two singles followed by a double.