The draw for the Davis Cup Final 8 has been drawn, scheduled to be held at the ‘Palacio de Deportes Josè Marìa Martìn Carpenà in Malaga from 19 to 24 November 2024. The opponent of the reigning champions Italy will be Argentinawith a possible semifinal for the Azzurri against one of the USA and Australia. On the other side of the draw, instead, the challenges Canada-Germany and Spain-Holland. Italy leads 3-2 in previous meetings with Argentina. The first match coincides with the end of Adriano Panatta’s career, who lost at the Foro Italico in 1983 against Guillermo Vilas, the very opponent he had beaten in the final of the 1976 Internationals. In the first four matches between the two national teams, the away team always won. Italy won for the first time in Mar del Plata in 2014 with a super Fognini who won two singles matches against Monaco and Berlocq and in doubles with Bolelli.
The last confrontation was more recent, in the group stage in Bologna in 2022: it ended 2-1 with decisive victories for Sinner and Berrettini in singles. The only Argentine Top 30 currently in the ATP singles ranking is Sebastian Baez (26), champion this year in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago, semifinalist in Cordoba and Hamburg, always on clay. For the national team, he made his debut in the 2022 preliminary round, beating the Czech Jiri Lehecka, and overall he has obtained three victories in seven matches played. Also in the Top 40 are Francisco Cerundolo (31), Tomas Martin Etcheverry (34) and Mariano Navone (40). In doubles, Coria could count on the world number 1 in the specialty ranking, Horacio Zeballos.
Already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals together with Marcel Granollers, in the national team he has won 9 of the 15 doubles played (11-18 overall). But he should mend fences with him after the exclusion from the Olympic selection and for the September group stage. “We do not have a good relationship”, admitted Zeballos.
