Spanish tennis player Feliciano Lopez, who hopes to retire from Wimbledon if he receives an invitation to play, has been named the new director of the Davis Cup finals. He replaces his compatriot David Ferrer, who had held this position for a year.

Also Read: https://sportzpoint.com/tennis/new-atp-mens-tennis-world-rankings-djokovic-returns-to-no-1-spot/

The 41-year-old former No. 12 player in the world already serves as Madrid's tournament director. Although he continues to play on the circuit. A three-time quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, Lopez is set to play in the grass-court Mallorca Championships beginning 25 June.

"I have some special memories of playing in this competition so I am very happy to be taking a leading role in delivering these events. As tournament director, my sole focus will be to build on the recent success of the competition and make it the best it can be for players and supporters across the world." Lopez said in the ITF announcement.

This season, the Davis Cup group stage will take place from September 12-17 in Bologna, Manchester, Valencia and Croatia. The final phase will begin on November 21 in Malaga. Four teams will play in a round-robin format at each event. The top two teams in each group will progress to the Final 8.

The Spaniard, 580th in the world this week, will indeed put an end to his career. He has seven tournament victories, eleven lost finals, the record for the number of consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (68) and four Davis Cups won (in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019).

"He is a Davis Cup legend and embodies everything the competition is about — passion, entertainment and pride in representing your country." ITF president David Haggerty said.

Also Read: https://sportzpoint.com/tennis/grand-slam-records-most-grand-slam-titles-by-active-players-2022-men/

The Davis Cup was included as an official part of the ATP calendar under an agreement last year between the ITF and the men's tour. Attendance in February's qualifying events was up 10%.

Meanwhile, Spain and Serbia are together in Group C, setting up a possible meeting between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. The Czech Republic and South Korea are also in the group, which will play in Valencia. While the United States will face Croatia, Finland, and the Netherlands in Group D. That group will be hosted by Croatia, although the city and venue have yet to be announced. Defending champion Canada is in Group A along with Italy, Sweden, and Chile — playing in Bologna. Group B consists of host Britain, Australia, France, and Switzerland, and will play in Manchester.

The top two teams in each group advance to the Final 8 tournament. A record 155 nations entered the competition this year.

The Davis Cup 2023 is set to culminate in its exhilarating finals. This renowned competition, one of tennis' most prestigious international tournaments, are under way as eight nations battle for the chance to win one of the most prestigious prizes in men's tennis.

Also Read: 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage

Australia entered Davis Cup 2023 Final

Australia have already beaten Finland as the first semifinals got under way in Malaga, Spain on Friday. After this, Australia has entered its second consecutive Davis Cup final. Australia's record in Davis Cup finals is 28–20, second only to the United States (32–29). But it has been 20 years since the traditional powerhouse has won the cup. In 2003, they defeated Spain at Melbourne Park, where current captain Lleyton Hewitt combined with Mark Philippoussis and doubles pair Wayne Arthurs and Todd Woodbridge to lead the host nation to victory.

Australia will play the winner of Serbia and Italy in Sunday's final, a tie that will feature a rematch of the Nitto ATP Finals title match between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.

Davis Cup 2023: Serbia vs Italy prediction

Serbia will take on Italy in the semifinals of the 2023 Davis Cup on Saturday, November 25. Novak Djokovic's presence certainly tips the scales in Serbia's favor, but the Italian team is no pushover. Sinner proved that he has the goods to challenge the 24-time Major champion, but the 22-year-old will need to raise his level by a fair margin to do that.

DuÅ¡an Lajović and Laslo Djere have more favorable results on clay than on hardcourts, so Miomir Kecmanović is likely to play the other singles match. Lorenzo Sonego could be called in place of young Matteo Arnaldi for this match, as the 28-year-old's experience could prove to be pivotal.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic becomes the most successful Serbian player to win Davis Cup after taking his nation to the semifinals

The doubles tie could see Djokovic and Sinner on opposing ends once again with their respective partners. Doubles is a different ballgame, so the match could swing either way. In the end, it's difficult not to back the team led by the World No. 1, who has looked unstoppable for most of the season.

The doubles tie could see Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner on opposing ends once again with their respective partners. Doubles is a different ballgame, so the match could swing either way. In the end, it's difficult not to back the team led by the World No. 1, who has looked unstoppable for most of the season.

What's the semi-final draw?

• Finland vs Australia - Friday 24 November (Australia won)

• Italy vs Serbia - Saturday 25 November

What's the final draw?

• Australia vs (Italy or Serbia) - Sunday 26 October

How to watch Davis Cup 2023 Final?

Now Great Britain are out, the Davis Cup Finals will be shown live on the Tennis Channel. A pass costs £2.49 a month in the UK after a seven-day free trial.

Novak Djokovic on Thursday became the most successful Serbian player in Davis Cup tennis history with his 21st consecutive singles win, sending his team into the semi-finals for the second time in three years.

Also Read: Davis Cup 2023: Australia defeats Czech Republic, reaches Davis Cup semi-finals

World number one Djokovic defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to give Serbia a 2-0 win against Great Britain. Now Serbia will face Italy in the Davis Cup semi-finals of this top men's team competition on Monday.

Djokovic He never struggled against Norrie, the top-ranked British player, breaking serve once in each set at the Martin Carpena arena. He didn't face a break point in the entire match.

With this, this was Djokovic's record 44th win in the Davis Cup, making him one win ahead of Nenad Zimonjic. Djokovic has won 10 singles matches for the country. Djokovic's last singles loss in the Davis Cup was when he retired against Juan Martin del Potro in Serbia's 2011 semifinal defeat against Argentina. Djokovic's last loss in a completed singles match in the Davis Cup was in 2009.

Djokovic is finishing the season in impressive form, having won a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title in a final against Sinner. The 36-year-old Djokovic won three Grand Slam titles this year to take his record tally to 24 overall.

Italy, on the other hand, defeated Netherlands 2-1 in the quarter-finals and entered the semi-finals for the second consecutive season of Davis Cup. In the first match, Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands gave his team the lead by defeating Matteo Arnaldi 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-6 (7) after saving three match points in the final tiebreaker.

Also Read: Davis Cup 2023: Finland beats defending champion Canada to reach semifinals

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner brought Italy level with a 7-6(3) 6-1 win over Tallon Griekspoor. He then teamed up with Lorenzo Sonego to ensure Italy's victory by defeating Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof 6-3, 6-4 in the decisive doubles match.

Australia bounced back from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 on Wednesday to enter the Davis Cup 2023 semi-finals. Australia thus made it to the last four for the second consecutive year.

Also Read: Davis Cup 2023: Finland beats defending champion Canada to reach semifinals

Alex de Minaur kept Australian hopes alive by coming back from a set down. Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden then won the decisive doubles match, sealing Australia's place in the Davis Cup 2023 semi-finals where they will face Finland on Friday.

Tomas Machac defeated Jordan Thompson 6–4, 7–5 in first singles to put the Czech Republic ahead 1–0. After this, de Minaur defeated Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 7-6 (2) 7-5 and brought Australia to 1-1 level. Purcell and Ebden then defeated Adam Pavlasek and Lehecka 6-4, 7-5 in doubles.

De Minaur, the top-ranked Australian and No. 12 in the world, broke back at 3-5 down in the second set and went on to force a tiebreaker. He then broke serve at 5-5 in the final set before closing out the match with four straight points.

Lehecka, No. 31 in the world, finished his season early to be fully fit for the last eight in Malaga. Machac broke Thompson's serve once in the first set and twice in the second, including at 5-5 before closing out the match in the first singles. In the doubles, Purcell and Ebden broke serve once in each set to clinch the victory.

Earlier, Finland pulled off an upset by defeating defending champions Canada 2-1 on Tuesday and made it to the last four. The second semi-final of Davis Cup 2023 will be played on Saturday while the final will be played on Sunday.

In Thursday's quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic's Serbia faces a Great Britain team depleted by injuries, while Italy takes on the Netherlands.

Also Read: 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage

The only time the Czech Republic have beaten Australia in 10 clashes was in 1975. Australia became only the second nation, after the United States, to reach 200 tie victories in the Davis Cup. Although, they have rich history to not won the competition since 2003.

Finland entered the semi-finals of the Davis Cup 2023 tennis tournament for the first time by defeating defending champion and world number one team Canada in Malaga on Tuesday.

Also Read: 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage

Otto Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara won the decisive doubles match in the first quarter-final of the competition being played in the southern Spanish city. 14th-ranked Finland defeated Vasek Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau 7-5, 6-3.

Both Canada and Finland were without their top-ranked players, as Felix Auger-Aliassime for Canada and Emil Ruusuvuori for Finland were sidelined with injuries. But, Virtanen kept Finland's hopes alive by defeating Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 7-5 in the second singles match of Davis Cup 2023. Earlier, Milos Raonic had given Canada an early lead with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Finn Patrick Kaukovalta.

Finland will play the winner of Wednesday's quarter-final between 2022 runners-up Australia and the Czech Republic in Friday's Davis Cup 2023 semi-final.

In other Davis Cup 2023 quarter-final matches, Australia will face Czech Republic, Italy will face Netherlands and Great Britain will face Serbia. The winning team of the match between Australia and Czech Republic will face Finland in the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be played on Friday and Saturday while the final will be held on Sunday.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek will participate in United Cup mixed-team event

Changes to the format of the historic competition in recent years following a now-defunct alliance with Spanish investment company Kosmos have not been everyone's cup of tea, with the traditional 'home and away' ties largely replaced. But ITF president David Haggerty said the new format, featuring qualifiers spread across four cities in September to determine the Final Eight in Malaga, is the best formula.

Tuesday's near sell-out crowd certainly provided the sort of atmosphere that was sadly lacking in some ties in September and the Finnish fans, many of whom are resident in Spain, will be out in force again on Friday.

The race to become the world champions in 2023 has begun as a group of famous players prepare to represent their countries at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. The tournament will take place in four European cities - Bologna, Manchester, Split, and Valencia - from 12 to 17 September. The top two teams from each group will advance to the tournament Final 8 in Malaga from 21-26 November. Check out our guides below to get all the information you need about each group before the showdown in September. Don't forget to buy your tickets now to support your country and be a part of the men's World Cup of Tennis.

Read Also: 8 records made by Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon 2023 final against Djokovic

Group A | 2023 Davis Cup

Canada, Chile, Italy and Sweden will play in a round-robin format in Group A of the tournament. Bologna City will be the host to the Group-A fixtures of the tournament.

Group B | 2023 Davis Cup

Manchester will host the Group-B fixture of the tournament from 12th September to 17th September 2023. Australia, Great Britain, France and Switzerland will face each other in a round-robin format.

Group C | 2023 Davis Cup

Spain, Serbia, Czechia and Korea Republic will compete against each other in the Group-C fixture. The top two teams will progress to the last 8 of the tournament. Valencia will be the host to the group-c fixtures.

Group D | 2023 Davis Cup

Split will host the Group-D fixtures. Croatia, Netherlands, USA and Finland will compete against each other in a round-robin format at the Arena Gripe venue.