Carlos Alcaraz secured the majority of Spain's wins at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage to also secure the country's spot in the knock-out stage.
After a disappointing end to his US Open campaign, which ended on the racket of Botic van de Zandschulp, the Spanish player quickly moved back to Europe. He first attended a Formula One race in Monza to enjoy his free time and reset a bit.
Then, he started practicing for the group stage of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, which Spain plays at Pabellon Fuente de San Luis in Valencia, Spain, meaning they have a home ground advantage over the other three teams - Australia, France, and the Czech Republic.
In their first tie, also thanks to two wins from Alcaraz, one in singles and one in doubles, Spain was able to outplay Czechia to secure the first crucial point of the group stage.
In the second tie, the home team played against France, and beating the French players would mean their qualification for the 2024 Davis Cup Finals knock-out stages, held from November 19th to 24th in Malaga, Spain.
In the first match of the tie, Roberto Bautista Agut took on Arthur Fils. The experienced Spaniard is a former Top 10 player on the ATP Tour, but he has struggled with injuries in recent years, and it was his opponent who was favored in this clash.
The Frenchman showed that he was a strong opponent when he won the opening set of the match 6-2. However, supported by the home crowd, and using all of his experience, Bautista Agut was able to produce an incredible comeback, winning the match 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
After that, it was Alcaraz's time to shine, and he shone really bright. Ugo Humbert proved to be a really strong player in recent years, and he certainly wanted to prove it also against the four-time major winner.
However, unlike his match against Tomas Machac, the Spanish prodigy didn't have so many issues this time around. He broke his opponent's serve in the fifth game of the first set, and for good measure, he added one more break later on.
As a result, he was able to win the first set of the match 6-3. The second set had a similar storyline, even though this time only one break of serve was needed for Alcaraz to win the second set 6-3.
He won the match 6-3, 6-3 to seal Spain's second point against France, also securing their qualification for the 2024 Davis Cup Finals knock-out stages in Malaga. Alcaraz was happy about that but also his performance.
"I was pleased with the level I played from the beginning til the last ball. I was really focused. It was a high level of tennis. I was really really intense."
"Probably one of the best matches I’ve played this year. Seeing my last month, I need these kind of matches. I’m really really happy with my performance today."
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