look news india
New Delhi, September 24 (HS). Rafael Nadal has been included in Spain's team for the Davis Cup Final Eight match to be held in Malaga in November.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has not competed anywhere since the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he lost in the second round to Novak Djokovic in the men's singles, and paired with Carlos Alcaraz to reach the quarter-finals of the men's doubles, where they lost to Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
After the Paris Games, Nadal withdrew from the US Open 2024 and Laver Cup 2024 due to health problems. He will join Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers in Spain's squad. David Ferrer will coach the team.
The top eight nations qualified from the group finals and will play in the coastal city of Spain. Host Spain will face the Netherlands while Canada will face Germany. The match will consist of two singles and one doubles decider.
Defending champions Italy were without world number one Jannik Sinner in the group final, having won all three of their matches, but the world number one could return in Malaga. They will face Argentina, who qualified from a tough group including Britain and Canada.
Italy and Spain are on opposite sides of the draw, meaning a potential final could be between Sinner and third-placed Carlos Alcaraz.
The United States were also vulnerable in the group final but the 32-time Davis Cup champions could bring in some of their big guns in Malaga where they will need to overtake Australia, the second-most successful nation with 28 titles.
The final eight knockout rounds will take place at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena between November 19-24.
