Davis Cup Finals: Australia looks to get over the hump

The Grand Slam season is over after Jannik Sinner triumphed at the U.S. Open on Sunday. However, tennis never stops–not until December, at least–and there is more action coming up this week in the form of the Davis Cup Finals.
 
Group-stage competition is set for September 10-15, as 16 teams in groups of four will battle for eight spots in the knockout rounds (November 19-24 in Malaga, Spain). Here are the groups:

Bologa, Italay
Belgium
Brazil
Netherlands
Italy

Manchester, England
Argentine
Canada
Finland
Great Britain

Valencia, Spain
Australia
Czech Republic
France
Spain

Zhuhai, China
Chile
Germany
Slovakia
United States
 
Let’s take a look at my top three picks to lift the Davis Cup trophy at the end of 2024.

Australia

Australia is No. 2 all time with 28 Davis Cup titles (trailing only the United States with 32), but it has not triumphed since 2003. The Aussies have come close to adding another in the last 23 years. Between 2005 and 2021 they reached the semifinals three times and advanced to the quarterfinals on two other occasions. Captain Lleyton Hewitt’s crew has finished runner-up each of the past seasons, first two Canada and then to Italy.
 
The Aussies have to like their chances in 2024. Alex de Minaur has been a Grand Slam quarterfinal machine this season and Alexei Popyrin’s summer featured a title at the Montreal Masters and a U.S. Open upset of Novak Djokovic. Doubles players Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson make up the best team on tour right now, having reached the Wimbledon final before winning the U.S. Open.

Italy

Italy is the capital of the tennis world these days. Sinner is ranked No. 1 after capturing a pair of major titles this year and the men’s side is full of other young talent. On the WTA Tour, Jasmine Paolini was a finalist at both the French Open and Wimbledon, propelling her to No. 5 in the world. And, oh yeah, Italy won the Davis Cup last fall.

It may win it again. Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti are skipping the group stage, but this country is so deep that it may not matter. The Italians still boast Matteo Berrettini, Flavio Cobolli, and Matteo Arnaldi, while Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori are a formidable doubles pairing.

Great Britain

No Andy Murray, no problem? It’s possible! Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion who led Great Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015, retired at the Paris Olympics.

Now the torch is passed to Jack Draper, among others. Draper is coming off a semifinal run at the U.S. Open, but he says he is ready to go for Davis Cup duty. Dan Evans, who reached the third round in New York after beating Karen Khachanov in the longest match in tournament history, is also on the roster. And then there is doubles specialist Henry Patten, who won Wimbledon in shocking fashion a couple of months ago.

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