Carlos Alcaraz pulls out of Spain’s Davis Cup squad following US Open 2023 semi-final defeat to Daniil Medvedev

It is a further hit to their preparations for the group stages of the finals, with Spain facing Serbia in Valencia on September 13.

They then play the Czech Republic on September 13, before coming up against Serbia on September 15 and concluding the group stage against South Korea on September 17.

A statement from the Spanish Tennis Federation read as follows: “Albert Ramos replaces Carlos Alcaraz in the Spanish Tennis Team that will play the Group Phase of the Davis Cup Finals this coming week in Valencia, from September 12 to 17.

“The 35-year-old veteran tennis player from Barcelona will join the team this afternoon, which this Saturday will carry out its first day of work under the orders of the new captain David Ferrer.

“Ramos was already called up for last year’s Final 8 in Malaga. In 2023, he has been a finalist in Gstaad and a semi-finalist in Cordoba, in addition to reaching the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro and at the ATP Challenger in Parma.

“In the Davis Cup, he has played five qualifiers with six victories and only two defeats.”

This will be seen as a further blow for tennis fans hoping to see another match-up against Novak Djokovic, after the 20-year-old missed out on facing the Serb in Sunday’s US Open final.

The group stages of the finals will be spread across four European cities, with Great Britain contesting Group B alongside Australia, France and Switzerland in Manchester.

Italy are the hosts in Group A when they face Canada, Sweden and Chile in Bologna, while Croatia play their Group D encounters against the Netherlands, USA and Finland in Split.

Alcaraz is not the first high-profile withdrawal, with world No. 6 Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini both pulling out of the Italy squad.

In Alcaraz’s absence, Spain’s squad will be captained by David Ferrer and comprises of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Roberto Bautista Agut and Marcel Granollers, while Albert Ramos comes in to replace the world No. 1.