Davis Cup Finals 2021: Venue, format, groups, live telecast and players to watch out for
The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will begin on 25 November. Featuring teams from 18 nations, this is the first time the tournament will be played across three countries, with each venue hosting matches of at least two out of the six groups.
The finals of the competition will be held on 5 December in Madrid, Spain.
Where are the matches being played?
The tournament will be played on indoor hard courts at three venues.
- Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain
- OlympiaWorld, Innsbruck, Austria
- Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy
Each venue will host matches of two groups and at least one quarter-final. Two quarter-finals will be played at Madrid, and one each at Innsbruck and Turin. However, the semi-finals and final will be staged in the Spanish capital.
Davis Cup Finals 2021: Format and Competition Draw
The 18 teams are spread across six groups and will compete in a round-robin format. Each tie consists of two singles matches and one doubles match, played in the best-of-three format.
The team with the highest number of points in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, along with the two best runners-up based on the percentage of sets won.
Davis Cup Finals 2021: Live Telecast
The tournament will begin at 16:00 CET/10:00 EST/15:00 UTC on 25 November. Matches will be live streamed on the Davis Cup website as well as broadcast on the TV channels listed below for each of the qualifying countries.
Three players to watch out for at Davis Cup Finals 2021
Spain enter the 2021 Davis Cup Finals as defending champions, having won their sixth title in the last edition of the competition held in 2019. They will be without Rafael Nadal this year, but still have a strong contingent.
The likes of Russia, Italy and Britain will also be in contention to lift the trophy.
Here's a look at three players to watch out for in the tournament:
#1 Carlos Alcaraz
Two years ago, Rafael Nadal led the Spanish charge and helped them claim their first Davis Cup title in eight years. However, the 20-time Grand Slam winner will be missing this time around as he recovers from a chronic foot injury.
In Nadal's absence, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz will be making his debut in the competition. The youngster is in great form, having won the NextGen ATP Finals a couple of weeks ago. He will be looking to build on that triumph with a few dominant performances in the Davis Cup.
#2 Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner will end the season ranked World No. 10, becoming the youngest player (20) to finish in the Top 10 since Juan Martin del Potro (20) in 2008.
After winning four ATP titles and finishing as a finalist at the Miami Masters, the 20-year-old will be looking to help the Italian team taste glory at the Davis Cup. Sinner will have to do the bulk of the heavy lifting for Italy, who will be without World No. 7, Matteo Berrettini.
#3 Cameron Norrie
Cameron Norrie has had a fantastic 2021 season, registering 50 wins to his name. Norrie has won two titles this year, including the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, and also has four runner-up finishes.
The Brit will be looking to make amends for his poor displays at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost both his matches after replacing the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas.