• In detail All about the Davis Cup

There was a time when the Davis Cup was not a safe place.

Álex Corretja

knows this

, he made his individual debut against Brazil, in Porto Alegre, in the spring of 1998, winning both of his matches, against

Fernando Meligeni

and

Gustavo Kuerten

.

"That was hell.

It was a kind of park, on the street, converted into a tennis court, a real pressure cooker », he comments to this newspaper.

Albert Costa

knows

it, who had to make his debut two years earlier, also at home, against Israel, with two wins against

Eyal Erlich

and

Noam Behr

.

«

Emilio Sánchez

,

Carlos Costa

and Corretja were on the team, and

Manolo Santana

trusted me.

It was a very fast court and I played two good matches », he recalls on the way to Marbella, where he will attend the debut of

Carlos Alcaraz

against

Marius Copil

, in the second of the singles of the qualifying round against Romania.

«He has an overwhelming character and where he goes depends on himself.

He has everything because he is very capable of imposing his rhythm », Corretja points out about the Murcian, who has just won his first ATP 500 two weeks ago in Rio de Janeiro and is already number 19 in the world.

Six-time champion of the competition, Spain, which won its first Davis Cup in 2000, with Corretja and Costa in the team, as well as

Juan Carlos Ferrero

, ultimately the hero of the final against Australia and today Alcaraz's coach, has been forced to play this match after failing to pass the group stage of the last Finals of the tournament, played last December in Madrid.

Alcaraz, who at 18 years old already has three titles, will be able to defend his country after the frustration caused by contracting Covid when he was ready to do so in the last edition of the tournament.

"He can't come at a better time.

He is now even more experienced and more physical.

I am convinced that he is going to be a great Davis Cup player », maintains Costa.

Ready for any challenge, as he has shown in his dizzying career, he will appear, however, in a seemingly comfortable series.

“In the early 90s, Davis was a bit of a taboo.

There was a lot of disunity in the team.

It was in the middle of that decade when the Davis spirit began to ferment.

We all understood that we were playing for our country and that it was more important than any other competition”, explains Corretja, former number two in the world.

Connection with the public

This is a tournament that is not made for everyone.

Some great players, like today's captain

Sergi Bruguera

, double champion of Roland Garros, never endorsed his quality in the Davis Cup.

Alcaraz, on the contrary, seems to respond to the stereotype that this competition demands.

“It connects very well with the public.

He has a very showy and creative game, he does a lot of things, drops, lobs, he has a carefree attitude," says Costa, winner of Roland Garros in 2002 and today director of the Davis Cup Finals.

"Is brave.

It is going to grow, and in the face of any difficulty the public is going to help it come up.

That is also the greatness of Davis, a competition that also boosts your confidence.

In 1998, the year in which we reached the semifinals,

Carlos Moyà

won Roland Garros and I the Masters”, Corretja evokes.

Spain returns to the Puente Romano Club in Marbella three years after beating Great Britain in the first round of the World Group, still with the old competition system.

And it does, at the beginning of a renewal process.

Waiting for how much Nadal can still offer, in addition to Alcaraz's debut, Bruguera will give way to a new doubles pair, formed by

Alejandro Davidovich

, a native of the Malaga town of Rincón de la Victoria, and

Pedro Martínez

, already member of the team in the Finals last year due to the succession of casualties.

The 736 of the circuit

Roberto Bautista

,

another of those absent on that occasion, will have to open the series.

The man from Castellón, recent champion in Doha, will be number 1. His rival, Gabi Adrian Boitan, is number 736 on the circuit.

A long time ago Romania, where tennis players such as

Ilie Nastase

and

Ion Tiriac

were born , lost any prominence in tennis.

With all tickets sold and despite the rough weather, Puente Romano will host the new Spain led by Alcaraz.

Hierarchies aside, because of his youth and his qualities, the horizon of this team that starts today will rest on him.

«I will be able to debut, at last.

It is a dream since I was a child », he said this Thursday.

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