Carlos Alcaraz had to retire from Davis Cup final eight due to injury risk. The World No. 1 suffered an edema in the hamstring of his right leg during Sunday's match against Jannik Sinner in ATP Finals, and left the Spanish team without their top player, and without a replacement.
It's up to Jaume Munar, Pedro Martínez, Pablo Carreño Busta anad Marcel Granollers to fight for a title they haven't won since 2019, led by coach David Ferrer, who admitted to El País that "with Carlos, we're an infinitely better team" and they feel their abscence... but want to give credit to the team that managed to put Spain in the final 8, which came after an epic comeback last September against Denmark, coming from 2-0 down.
"It's true that without Carlos, the level drops, but at the same time, let's not forget that we're in a competition with the eight best teams in the world. We have to give ourselves some credit, right?", said Ferrer.
Spain starts with a defeat against Czechia in Davis Cup
Spain and Czechia fight in Thursday morning, and things already look bad for them: Jakub Mensik (ranked 19 in the world) defeated Pablo Carreño Busta (World No. 89) 7-5, 6-5. Now it's up to Jaume Munar to save Spain from elimination against Jiri Lehecka.
"If we look at the rankings, we have no chance against the Czech Republic, but this competition isn't about rankings, and a lot can happen. We dedicate ourselves to this, and I think we're doing alright", said Ferrer the day before the match.