Feliciano López arrived in tracksuit to the opening ceremony of the Davis Cup, directly from training with the rest of the Spanish team. "Is it here?" Asked the tennis player, disoriented among the works that are being carried out in the enclosure of the Magic Box so that everything is ready as of next Monday. 18 changing rooms have been conditioned (one for each selection) and seven new training areas have been built, in addition to the entire leisure area next to the Manolo Santana Central Track. "On track number 3, in the background, 'Feli'", answered a person from the organization, who tried to contain all the media gathered at the entrance of the premises.

Of course, the president of the Kosmos company, Gerard Piqué , also appeared, along with one of his children. «I am a little nervous», confessed the central Barcelona, ​​who has taken advantage of the stoppage of selections to continue their business in Madrid, where for the first time this new tennis 'World Cup' is going to be played. "I hope that everyone lives an unforgettable experience and that it is a great sports show," said the Catalan, who shared the front row at the event with the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez Almeida , and the president of the Community of Madrid , Isabel Díaz Ayuso , whom she kindly greeted upon arrival.

Minutes before beginning the act of presentation of the tournament, the Spanish team trained in the same venue, in one of the adjacent tracks. The captain, Sergi Bruguera , waiting for Rafa Nadal and Roberto Bautista , who will join once the Masters Cup ends, has quoted the young Carlos Gimeno Valero , 18, finalist this season of the Wimbledon junior tournament. The young man exercised alongside the rest of the team, consisting of Pablo Carreño , Feliciano López and Marcel Granollers .

"The people of Madrid love tennis"

Feliciano López was the representative of the Spanish team at the event. "We have already released the tracks, they are great," explained the tennis player, who bet on the victory of Spain and predicted an "ambience" throughout the tournament: "We know that the people of Madrid love tennis and their support is going to be fundamental ». In fact, the fans sold out in just a few hours the tickets for all the matches of the national team in this first phase, which will be held at the Manolo Santana Central Track, modified - like the other tracks of the Magic Box - to change the clay for the hard surface. It is expected that, along with the Spanish fans, Argentina will be another of the most numerous fans. Music will be another of the protagonists during the tournament. Shakira and Stool, among others, will perform at the Central.

Spain is favorite in all betting houses (in some of them by much advantage) ahead of France and Novak Djokovic's Serbia . «It will be a very open competition. Many teams have options to win, although perhaps Spain has some small option, ”said tournament director and former Spanish captain, Albert Costa .

Russia and Croatia, first rivals

The team led by Nadal will debut next Tuesday afternoon (schedule still to be confirmed) against Russia, where the confrontation between Daniil Medvedev and Nadal, finalists of the last US Open, will be one of the most exciting matches of the first phase. The next day will be the duel with Croatia, the other combined that integrates Group B and winner of last season's edition. His last minute casualties have ripped off the label as one of the favorites. The table of the first phase, divided into six groups of three teams, will give way to the qualifiers (quarter-finals, semifinals and final) to which the first of each group will be classified and the two best seconds -based on the number of matches, sets, games and points won-. Spain starts as one of the favorites.

The 18 teams that will compete to proclaim themselves world champions and raise the Silver Salad Bowl are Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Spain, United States (most successful selection with 32 titles), France, Great Britain , Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia and Serbia. The team led by Sergi Bruguera has five in its windows (2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011).

On Monday (4:00 pm) Croatia and Russia will raise the curtain on the Manolo Santana Central Court of this new 'World Cup' of tennis, which will gather, for the first time, the 18 best teams in the same venue. "There is nothing more beautiful than being world champion," said Antoine Griezmann and Pau Gasol in a promotional video. They know that feeling firsthand.

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