With the 2022 ATP Cup starting in 5 weeks’ time, the Spanish team suffer a massive setback as Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are set to skip the tournament in order to prepare for the 2022 Australian Open keeping their fitness in mind. The Spanish team will also have to cope with the absence of Marcel Granollers, which implies that 2 of the 4 players from the 2020 tournament will not be playing.
As reported by Marca, with Alcaraz’s fantastic rise in the 2021 season, the youngster was expected to be part of the 4-man squad for this year’s ATP Cup but with him testing positive just prior to Spain’s first match at the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, he has decided to skip the event that will begin from January 1 in Sydney.
Similarly for Nadal, who ended the season in August due to his foot injury has opted out in order to prepare for the Grand Slam that will begin a week after the ATP Cup final is played out on 9th January. Nadal is scheduled to play in a 3-day exhibition event at the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship but with the quarantine policy of Australia, he has decided to rest well for the Australian summer.
Granollers had also pulled out from the 2021 US Open and played only 1 tournament after his doubles title at the 2021 Cincinnati Masters, the 2021 ATP Finals where he lost in the semi-finals. He has also decided to withdraw from the ATP Cup to nurse his injury well and have a well-rested body next year.
Spain will be without Rafael Nadal for the first time in the ATP Cup
While Spain is yet to win the ATP Cup so far, they have made good runs in both tournaments. In the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup, Spain finished as the runner-up to Novak Djokovic‘s Serbia. In the 2021 edition, Spain lost in the semi-finals to eventual runner-up Italy.
With Nadal now out this year, Roberto Bautista Agut and Olympics Bronze medallist Pablo Carreno Busta will be now leading their country into the next year’s tournament.
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