Spain ended a practically perfect week on Sunday, in which the victory against Australia (2-1) in the third match of the week takes them to the final phase of the Davis Cup in Malaga (from November 19 to 24) as group leader. David Ferrer intervened, in his role as line-up manager, and the captain’s bet paid off. Pablo Carreño’s comeback against Jordan Thompson (2-6, 6-2 and 7-6(3) in 2h36) and the subsequent victory in the doubles, recorded by Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez against the duo formed by Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden (5-7, 6-4 and 6-4, in 1h 56m), rounded off a qualifying phase that was expected to be very tough and that in the end was resolved with a party. Martínez’s defeat in the second singles, against Alexei Popyrin (double 64, in 1h 29m) was of no consequence. Having defeated three powers of the magnitude of the Czech Republic, France and the highly successful Oceania team, the Spanish team will burst into the final stages of the competition in style, after failing to make it past the September cut-off in the last edition.
This time, a development and a resolution that was just what we wanted, with three very meritorious triumphs and a choral signature, without personalisms. Carlos Alcaraz was brilliant on the two days that he played, but so were Roberto Bautista and Pablo Carreño from the second row, especially the first one; the comeback on Friday against Arthur Fils definitely set Spain on track for a good future, which also had the brilliance of Granollers in pairs and the contribution of Martínez to tip the balance against the renowned Australian doubles players, who had six consecutive triumphs in the competition. In the background, Ferrer’s skill in the direction, opportunely deciphering the last move: fresh pieces and incentives to tackle the last chapter, surely much more transcendental than it seemed. Finishing first or second, a considerable difference.
At the Martín Carpena in Málaga, the venue for the third consecutive time of the Finals, Spain will face Germany or Belgium in the quarter-finals; the name of one or the other will be revealed in the draw on Thursday. It will therefore avoid meeting Italy (defending champion) or the United States (32 titles to its name, more than any other) on landing in the Andalusian capital. A radically different scenario to that of a year ago, when it was eliminated in the group stage. Then it could not count on Alcaraz or Bautista, and lost the first two matches by 3-0. In the opposite direction this time, it has shown its more guerrilla vein in recent days and has only dropped two points along the way, the doubles against France and the one conceded against Australia in the second singles. In other words, a performance that is difficult to improve and that guides it to the next season together with the United States, Argentina, Australia, Germany, Italy, Canada and Belgium.
Carreño opened the day following the epic path traced two days earlier by Bautista, recomposing himself and turning around a duel that also seemed lost. With 5-2 in his favour, Thompson served to seal the victory in the first individual round, but just as happened to the Frenchman Arthur Fills in the previous round, the Australian got angry, his arm got stuck and the Asturian took advantage of it to turn the story around, in perfect communion with the crowd. To the rhythm of the shout emitted by the public assistant at La Fonteta (“Paaa-blo, Paaa-blo!”), the man from Gijón grew and ended up scratching out a victory that tastes like glory because he comes from difficult times and on the return route every stitch, whether major or minor, counts. And a lot.
The epic wake
For him, now 33, the last year and a half has been a nasty struggle with his right elbow, which began to bother him in a subtle way and finally forced him to undergo surgery in November. From then on, the emotional swings of any recovery. Ups and downs. Going for a while and then for days. “I had some self-destructive, negative thoughts, thinking that I wasn’t going to recover, that every time I seemed to be fine, something would happen again. But well, here I am,” he admitted in May, when he returned to the courts on the sand of Roland Garros. After the restart, a sustained and controlled evolution —including going through two challengers—, and a restorative summer that ends with a soothing triumph in the Davis Cup, participating in the collective success.
Against the Czech Republic and France, the captain opted for Bautista’s option, but against Australia he wanted to give him the pleasure of opening the match. “This competition is different, difficult, and I’ve been off the court for a long time.” [llegó a caer el puesto 1.052, se perdió los Juegos de París y ha tenido que recurrir al ranking protegido para competir]I’ve been able to get into the swing of things this month [apariciones en Canadá, Cincinnati, Winston-Salem y el US Open]“But it was hard for me to get started,” he said. “Maybe I took too many risks at the beginning and made more mistakes than I should have, but when he served to win, it was clear that we were in Valencia. In the end, I think the public made the difference, they gave me the extra I needed.”
Carreño knows well the treacherous background of this competition, which, like every player, forced him to go through the toll of doubt at the time. There are 11 series, with more individual disappointments (6) than triumphs (3). However, this time he is left with a good taste in his mouth. “Maybe a defeat here can mark you more than it should, which it shouldn’t, and vice versa, a victory can too. I am coming from a very tough moment after the injury, and I was not even sure that I would be able to recover my level, so this gives you a lot of confidence for the end of the year and next season,” concluded Carreño, who to date has only been able to play 17 matches, 13 of them in the summer. He had not paraded through the Davis Cup since 2022, when he was knocked out in the quarterfinals by the Croatian Marin Cilic, and he reappears in Valencia with a prize.
After his intervention came Pedro Martínez, another player Ferrer wanted to give the game a run for his money. The Valencian, 27 years old and currently 42nd, had not had the opportunity to fight in the singles category until now – he has in doubles, four times – and he came up against Popyrin’s sweet moment. Novak Djokovic’s executioner at the US Open and previously champion in Montreal, the Australian (24th) balanced the match thanks to his magnificent service performance. He barely offered any openings and when he did, at the beginning of the second set, he made up for it from serve to serve. With those three options cancelled out, breakMartínez failed to break through the wall, but was able to make up for it later with a meritorious victory against Granollers, the perfect end to a week in which everything has gone swimmingly for Spain.
