Davis Cup Final 8: Preview and what you need to know

If you loved the ATP Finals, you are also likely going to like the Davis Cup Finals that begin on Tuesday. An event that began in 1900 featuring the United States, the UK, and the British Isles now involves as many as 155 countries. But there are not just a bunch of random players participating; Some of the best players on the ATP tour will play.

The way the final eight of the Davis Cup works is that the eight countries that have managed to find their way through the group stages will take on another team. The quarterfinals will be held from Tuesday through Thursday (November 21 through 23) and the semifinals will be held on Friday and Saturday (November 24 and 25). The finals will be held on Sunday (November 26).

Each tie will feature up to three matches with the No. 1 player from each country going up against the No. 1 of the team they are playing and so on. The first two matches will feature singles matches and if a third match is needed to decide the tie, a doubles match will be played. The quarterfinal opponents line up this way:

Canada versus Finland
Czechia versus Australia
France versus Italy
Great Britain versus Serbia

All you need to know about the 2023 Davis Cup Final 8

Each match in the finals will be held at Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga, Spain. This is the second straight year the event will be held in Malaga. The stadium where the tournament will take place seats 11,300 people.

The two singles players who will participate in the Davis Cup Finals that also played in the ATP Finals are Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Jannik Sinner (Italy). The Italian team might be the deepest of all the countries as they have Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Arnaldi, and Lorenzo Sonego. The key, however, is that because each tie features just two singles matches, a team with a top-end No. 1 can greatly affect the outcome. (This is looking at you, Novak Djokovic.)

There was an outside chance that in the Great Britain and Serbia tie Djokovic and Andy Murray might play. That would be their first meeting since 2017. But Murray was forced to pull out of the event with a shoulder injury.

It would be nice for Canada if they were able to pull through again – they won the Davis Cup in 2022 – because the women’s team just won the Billie Jean King Cup, the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup. Canada does have a relatively strong team too. They are led by Felix Auger-Aliassime.

A team not to be discounted is Finland. They swept the United States in order to make the finals. Otto Virtanen is only ranked 170 on the ATP tour currently, but the 22-year-old was brilliant against the US and could become a force on the tour in 2024.

My guess is that Italy wins the Davis Cup in 2023. They have only won the event one time and that was in 1976. But Novak Djokovic is going to give Serbia a puncher’s chance against any team the Serbs might face.