Tomorrow the draw between the magnificent 8 playing in Malaga from 21st to 26th November. Italy will have to face the English or the Dutch
The magnificent eight who will play the Davis Cup in Malaga from 21 to 26 November have finally been revealed. Canada, Serbia, Czech Republic, Holland, Finland and Australia were joined on the last day by Italy and last by Great Britain, which in group B in Manchester got the better of France 2-1, with a exciting challenge to the last point, decided by the double won by Daniel Evans/Neal Skupski over the comeback couple Nicolas Mahut/Eduard Roger-Vasselin, 1-6 7-6 (4) 7-6 (6), with the French team having wasted four match points and in general a superiority that had seemed rather clear during the match. But, gentlemen, this is Davis, where the concept of a favorite is very, very slippery indeed. And so Great Britain will go to Malaga, which also qualifies as first. Something that closely affects Italy. Why? Simple: in the quarter-finals, according to the hypothetical pairings already communicated by the ITF, the Azzurri, who came second in group A, will meet either Great Britain, who won group B, or the Netherlands, who took first place from group D. We will know for sure on Tuesday at 12pm, when the draw will take place.
hypothetical pairings
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The other hypothetical pairings are Canada (winner of group A and reigning champions) and the Czech Republic (first in group C) who will face either Australia (second in group B) or the surprising Finland (second in group D) , while for Novak Djokovic’s Serbia (second in group C), like Italy, there will be either Holland or Great Britain. According to the scheme, in a possible semi-final, Italy could face one of Serbia, the Netherlands and Great Britain, while the other semi-final would see Canada, Finland, the Czech Republic and Australia opposing each other. Therefore, on the Azzurri’s road to the final there could be two Fab Fours like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic (who hasn’t lost in singles in Davis since 2011). But this Italy, in its entirety, with Jannik Sinner, cannot and must not be afraid of anyone.