Only in November will Nicolás Massú’s team know their rival and where they will play in the February series. The one they will reach at a key moment in the calendar for South American athletes.
The national Davis Cup team left Italy without realizing its desire to be among the top eight teams in the world. One that was very close, firstly due to the absences of rival stars, then due to the course of the actions themselves. They won the series perfectly against Sweden, then managed to salvage a single point against Italy and Canada, finishing third in their group. From now on, the horizon is set on the playoffs which will be held in 2024.
A case that still has a big unknown: who the Massú team will face. The rival and the scenario in which Chile will have to compete for its continuity in the World Group will not be known until November. Something that, for the captain, will largely define the series. “If you play against a country on the other side of the world, on a difficult pitch, it will be very tough. If this same team goes to Chile on clay, we become favorites. This is why it is good to add experiences. “You have to get used to the different courts,” he explained on the day of the elimination in Bologna. A reality which will largely depend on the position that the nationals occupy in the ITF rankings.
What we can expect are the names that will appear on the said list, regardless of the place and the rival to beat. Massú has always been a captain who keeps the block together and as long as injuries affect Chilean tennis players, the top four places are fixed. The only changes could come in last position, even if Gonzalo Lama starts as the big favorite. Only the emergence of a young tennis player could defeat the presence of the Lion. Nicolás Jarry, Christian Garin, Alejandro Tabilo and Tomás Barrios will be there in February.
It is also very likely that the singles will again be in the hands of Jarry and Garin, while the doubles will be in the hands of Tabilo and Barrios. In fact, the big surprise of this recent cup was the inclusion of the left-hander in the final confrontation against Canada, in what was considered a big gamble by the double Olympic medalist. Of course, once the series ended, it was learned that the northerner’s absence was due to physical problems, which aroused suspicion. “Yesterday we finished very late and Christian told us that he was feeling physical discomfort. This morning we talked again and he told us the same thing, he thought his teammates were in better condition to play. This is why we made the decision to change,” Massú explained once the confrontation with the Americans was over.
The problems obviously weren’t serious, since Gago is in China playing the Asian tour. Your first stop will be the ATP 250 in Zhuhai, where he is registered in singles and doubles. This Wednesday, The Arieño abandoned Santiago 2023.
Whoever needs time to change, even if he is not injured, It’s Alejandro Tabilo who still can’t raise his head. Complicated by injuries and little activity, the Torontonian lives a year 2023 to forget, struggling in the rankings and carrying these bad feelings even until his performance in the Davis Cup, something he had always kept intact until ‘to this year. After a mediocre performance in Italy, the Chilean returned home to compete in the Antofagasta Challenger, where he lost in the first round by 6-3, 1-6 and 7-6(9) against Tristan Boyer, number 370 in the world rankings.
Possible rivals?
With the elimination of the 2023 Finals already confirmed, all that remains is to wait for the draw for the playoffs which will take place in November. There, we will know who Chile will play against and where they will have to do it. At the moment we know the teams that will participate in the draw, but we do not know who their rivals could be, as it will depend on whether they are ranked or not.
So far, eight teams will have to face each other in this case due to their defeat in the Davis Cup group stage. Besides the Chilean, there will be Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, South Korea, the United States, Croatia and France. Added to this are 12 others who managed to participate in this repechage having won their series in World Group I. These are Germany, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Argentina, Ukraine, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Chinese Taipei, Brazil, Israel and Peru. Finally, we must add the four losing nations in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Davis Cup, contested by Canada, Italy, Australia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Finland, Netherlands and Great Britain.
The latter and the October update of the ITF nation rankings will determine whether Chile is seeded or not, which will also be very relevant to see if the series will be played on domestic territory or at home. stranger. At the moment, they would be ranked number nine, but everything will depend on which countries are eliminated from the quarter-finals. In total, there are 12 ranking places.
How will they arrive in February?
The Davis Cup qualifiers will take place at a key time in the schedule for Latin tennis players. If we analyze the dates for 2023, the event will take place in the first week of February, just in the days between the conclusion of the Australian tour at the start of the year and the start of the South American clay court tournaments.
This is why an indoor series in Europe could be fatal for the adaptation of players who have to play the continent’s events throughout the summer and come from Australia or those who, due to the ranking, had to stay in this corner of the map by playing challengers. A situation that also puts them under control, because historically this part of the calendar is where the South Americans get a points cushion that helps them be present during the rest of the season.
On the other hand, playing at home in Chile could be a very important factor for the team’s tennis players who do not play the first major tournament of the year and a dream start for those who arrive just for Davis , considering what a boost it could be to get a classification. The most obvious example is Nicolás Jarry, who debuted in 2023 with the series against Kazakhstan at La Serena and was subsequently crowned in Santiago.
The positive for the national team is that by February they are not defending major points on the calendar, so they have tournaments where they can only improve. With less pressure, they could achieve better results and arrive better prepared for February. Which will be necessary if the goal is to once again be among the 16 most powerful teams on the planet.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
