Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from Davis Cup Qualifiers tie against Denmark

Carlos Alcaraz will not help his country in the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers tie against Denmark after winning the US Open.

The Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup don't have a great spot in the tennis calendar, which means that the best tennis players in the world often miss the tournament. For example, Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup.

Now, the men's team competition has also suffered a significant withdrawal. Alcaraz, who is the new world No. 1 player on the ATP Tour, won't compete in the Qualifiers tie against Denmark.

In the first (of two) qualifiers round, Spain played against Switzerland. Pedro Martinez won his first singles match against Dominic Stricker 6-4, 7-6(9) before Roberto Carballes Baena bested Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-4.

On Day 2, Martinez teamed up with Jaume Munar, beating Marc-Andrea Huesler and Stricker 6-4, 7-5, to secure their country's spot in the second round of the qualifiers. In a dead rubber match, Remy Bertola beat Martin Landaluce 6-7(2), 6-3, 16-14, so the final result of the tie was 3-1 for Spain.

Denmark, on the other hand, played against Serbia. Without Novak Djokovic in Serbia's line-up, there was no favorite in this tie, and that's why it had to be decided in the last match. After falling behind 0-2, Denmark sensationally completed a comeback, beating Serbia 3-2.

Now, Denmark's chances of advancing to the Finals have increased yet again. On September 13th and 14th, the Danish team will play on outdoor clay courts at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain, taking on the home Spanish team.

Initially, the new world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz was supposed to be a part of this team, but after winning the US Open, he chose not to participate in the competition. He isn't the only player who withdrew, as Alejandro Davidovich Fokina withdrew as well.

As a result, team captain David Ferrer added three new players. Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers will be joined by Jaume Munar, Roberto Carballes Baena, and Pablo Carreno Busta. That means Spain's line-up will be almost identical to that against Switzerland.

Denmark, on the other hand, will field an identical team, unless they make some changes. Holger Rune will lead his country, with Elmer Moeller, August Holmgren, Christian Sigsgaard, and Johannes Ingildsen joining him.

The tie will depend on Rune's performance. If he wins both of his singles matches, which he will be the favorite to do, then he will need help from his teammates in only one other match.

Still, Moeller or possibly Holmgren will be outsiders in any match they play, as Spanish players are higher-ranked, but both have recently shown a lot of promise. If, however, Rune wins both of his singles matches and his teammates lose, he can still try to push his country to the Finals in the doubles match.

So, Spain's chances of winning have decreased quite a bit, but with a more balanced team, they are still the slight favorites.