Five teams to look out for at Davis Cup Finals

These teams will definitely attract a lot of eyeballs at the tournament.

The 2022 Davis Cup is heading towards its conclusion and tennis enthusiasts cannot wait to see the action in the Finals. Upcoming fixtures in the Davis Cup Finals will be intense and very exciting for the fans of involved nations and the neutrals alike. It is the highest level of competition in the tournament.

Davis Cup is one of the most popular tennis tournaments which involves the men’s national teams. The ties have both the singles and doubles matches. The Finals stage of the tournament, also known as World Group previously, will have 16 teams trying to win it. Of all the participating nations, there are five in particular which are strong contenders.

Here are the five teams that one needs to look out for at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals:

Italy

Italy as a team has good overall strength. It does not rely only on one category, such as the singles or doubles. Thanks to decent players across the board, the Italian team is a strong candidate to reach the latter stages of the Finals.

Jannik Sinner (WR11) is a strong singles player and so is Matteo Berrettini (WR15). When it comes to doubles fixtures, then the pairing of Fabio Fognini (WR28) and Simone Bollelli (WR23) will be leading the team. The Italians also handed a defeat in the opening contest to tournament favourites Croatia.

United States of America

The United States of America is a strong contender as well to win the Davis Cup Finals this year. Taylor Fritz (WR12) will be leading the team in singles and aiming to win his matches. There is also Thomas Paul (WR29) who can surprise higher-ranked players on his day.

However, the real strength of the USA lies in the doubles. Rajeev Ram is the world number two in doubles rankings. He retained the US Open title recently by winning the Men’s Doubles category. The USA has won both of their opening ties in Group D and will likely make it into the knockout stages.

United Kingdom

Another team that can easily chart a course towards winning the tournament is the United Kingdom. The team has a sensational balance and could be a pain for the rest of the competitors. Furthermore, their players are in-form at the moment, such as Cameron Norrie (WR8) and Joe Salisbury (DWR1). 

Along with world number one in doubles Salisbury, there is Neal Skupski who is world number three in doubles. Thus, scoring a point in doubles against the UK will be a painfully difficult task. To make things more difficult for the opponents, the team also has the legendary Andy Murray.

Spain

Spain is one of the teams to watch out for at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals stage. In terms of seedings, the Spaniards are second only to Croatia. Their singles charge is led by the 2022 US Open winner and World No.1 singles player Carlos Alcaraz. 

There is strong representation in doubles too. Marcelo Granollers (WR12) and Pedro Martinez (WR76) will hope to provide support to Alcaraz who will be a difficult opponent to beat for the rest of the competition. Spain beat Serbia by 3-0 convincingly in the opening tie as well. 

Croatia

Croatia has always been a strong competitor in the Davis Cup due to their strength across the board. The top seeds were the runners-up in 2021 and will aim to finally get their hands on the trophy this year. 

Croatia’s strength lies in the doubles category which comprises Mate Pavic (WR9) and Nikola Mektic (WR10). They have great cohesion and chemistry in their performances. Despite a defeat to Italy in their first group tie, Croatia responded with a 2-1 win over Sweden in the next.