Sports
Davis Cup Finals 2019: Format, Rules, Players and Bracket Schedule
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty ImagesThe 2019 Davis Cup Finals begin on Monday in Madrid, with 18 nations vying for supremacy at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center.A new format is in place for the tournament, and the winners will be decided after a week of competition.Teams have been drawn into six round-robin groups for the opening phase. World…
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images
The 2019 Davis Cup Finals begin on Monday in Madrid, with 18 nations vying for supremacy at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center.
A new format is in place for the tournament, and the winners will be decided after a week of competition.
Teams have been drawn into six round-robin groups for the opening phase. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are expected to feature for Spain, Serbia and Great Britain, respectively.
Each tie will feature two singles matches and a doubles match, played across three sets. The winners of each group will advance to the quarter-finals, with the two best runners-up also proceeding to the knockouts.
Croatia are the reigning champions after beating France in the 2018 final.
Davis Cup Finals Draw
Group A: (1) France, Japan, Serbia
Group B: (2) Croatia, Russia, Spain
Group C: (3) Argentina, Chile, Germany
Group D: (4) Belgium, Colombia, Australia
Group E: Kazakhstan, Netherlands, (5) Great Britain
Group F: Italy, Canada, (6) United States
Davis Cup Schedule
Monday, Nov. 18
Croatia vs. Russia
Belgium vs. Colombia
Italy vs. Canada
Tuesday, Nov. 19
France vs. Japan
Argentina vs. Chile
Kazakhstan vs. Netherlands
Spain vs. Russia
Australia vs. Colombia
U.S. vs. Canada
Wednesday, Nov. 20
Serbia vs. Japan
Argentina vs. Germany
Great Britain vs. Netherlands
Croatia vs. Spain
Belgium vs. Australia
U.S. vs. Italy
Thursday, Nov. 21
France vs. Serbia
Germany vs. Chile
Great Britain vs. Kazakhstan
Quarter-finals: Thursday, Nov. 21 and Friday, Nov. 22.
Semi-finals: Saturday, Nov. 23.
Final: Sunday, Nov. 24.
Full bracket information can be found at the Davis Cup's official website. A list of the players in each squad can be found here.
Preview
Spain are the favourites to win the Davis Cup on home soil, according to Oddschecker, and the involvement of Nadal will be the key to success.
Nadal finished the season top of the world rankings once again but has faced a punishing schedule in recent months. However, the Spaniard competed at the Nitto ATP Finals in London earlier in November and successfully came through his matches while dealing with an abdominal injury, per Uche Amako of the Daily Express.
Nadal has been passionate about representing his country, and it would take a serious issue to stop his involvement in the capital.
Mercurial talent Roberto Bautista Agut will be a team-mate of Nadal's, and the 31-year-old is the world No. 9 after a strong season.
Serbia will also assess the condition of Djokovic ahead of the tournament after his elimination from the ATP Finals. The superstar suffered a reoccurrence of an elbow injury at the O2, per Amako.
France have been drawn with the Serbs in Group A, and their squad features outstanding potential, with Gael Monfils, Benoit Paire, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all present.
Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Murray's appearance should delight spectators, with the Brit continuing his journey back into top-flight tennis after injury.
Great Britain are a wild-card entry in the finals and previously won the Davis Cup in 2015. Murray was a major factor in the success, and he will hope his involvement will inspire his team this year.
The Scot expressed his delight at representing his country once again and said he believes they can progress from Group E against Kazakhstan and the Netherlands, per Sky Sports.
“In terms of the group stages, I think we've got a good chance in the group.
“I think we can get out of the group. It's not a gimme for us, there's so many good combinations in terms of the Kazakh singles and Dutch doubles so we'll need to play well to get through it.”
The new format has caused controversy, but the historic tournament was in need of revamping. Fans often responded well to the home-and-away setup, but the Davis Cup's latest incarnation should attract a whole new audience.
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