🏆 Ongoing Tournaments

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The Demon rules in Malaga. In a matchup that was resolved over two singles games, Australia knocked the Netherlands out of the way and secured their place in the semi-final.

With a team led by historic former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, Australia didn't need to appeal to a third doubles match to advance to the next stage, posting a pair of back-to-back singles wins for Jordan Thompson and Alex "Demon" de Minaur over the Dutch.

In two three-set matches and without tie-breaks, the Netherlands team was outclassed for most of the tennis day. However, the result of the second meeting does not do justice to van de Zandschulp's first-rate match, which featured tweeners, dropshots and a lot of point-winning backhands.

Australia reaffirms its position as title contender in Malaga and now awaits the winner between Croatia and favorite Spain in the next-to-the-last stage.

🔝 All-Time High Competing Nations at the Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is an event with great historical relevance, but with a not-so-recent decline in interest by the public. The main, widely accepted reasons are the saturated calendar of the ATP Tour or the little presence of high-level Americans on the circuit until recently, which reduces the interest of one of the countries most involved in the world of tennis.

However, 2022 was the year with the greatest participation of delegations from all over the globe, justifying the fair and common comparison between the Davis Cup and the World Cup (just that the former happens once a year).

In its beginnings, the Davis Cup was still a tournament with limited participation, mostly involving the United States and Australia as the main participants in each early edition. Hence the superior historical record of this pair of countries compared to the rest of the competitors.

I wanted to add the data from the Argentine championship in 2016 due to its historical relevance and the main actors of that specific championship run. The tournament saw a very high level of Juan Martín del Potro in a 5-set match against the Croatian Marin Cillic, with the final result in favor of the Argentine. This victory opened the way for Fede Delbonis to seal the South American championship.

The 2016 Davis Cup was the climax of a history of four lost finals by the Argentine delegation in the Tennis World Cup. The team led by del Potro brought Argentina its first and only Davis Cup, adding another ground-breaking achievement in the repertoire of the Tower of Tandil.

🇪🇸 The Local Favorite takes the Stage

The team led by Sergi Bruguera, a two-time French Open Champion in the 90's and career-high No. 3 ranking, is shaping up to be the ultimate Davis Cup winner in Malaga.

Although Spain's team was diminished by the recent early exit from the tennis year of the current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the replacement came in perfect conditions so that Pablo Carreno Busta, current champion of the Montreal Masters 1000, could strengthen a Spanish delegation who is shaping up to secure its seventh Davis Cup.

On the other side of the court, the team led by Marin Cilic, seeks to break the historic streak of losses against Spain in a Davis Cup, with four defeats against the Croats. Marin, brags to be the only Grand Slam winner present at the tournament and will seek, in the company of the Western & Southern Open Champion, Borna Coric, to heat things up at the Spanish house.

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👋 So long, and thanks for all the tennis!

→ Crazy return angles from Tallon Griekspoor.

→ De Minaur gets served by the Dutch.

→ Wild flex from Jordan Thompson after today's win.

→ Van de Zandschulp showing a Nole-tier backhand.

→ Italian vibes at the Davis Cup.