Carlos Alcaraz will no longer be competing at the 2023 Davis Cup group stage.
Alcaraz recently exited the US Open following his four-set defeat to Daniil Medvedev in an entertaining semifinal encounter on Friday.
He already lost the No. 1 ranking following Novak Djokovic's opening round win, but now stands to drop even further behind the Serbian legend in the ATP rankings now that he wasn't able to defend his full 2,000 points in New York.
All in all, it was a long yet disappointing end to Alcaraz's US Open run who is now looking to recharge his batteries by skipping the Davis Cup group stage.
The group stage takes place from Sept. 12-17 across Bologna, Manchester and Valencia. There are four groups of four with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout stage which takes place Nov. 21-26.
Spain notably faces Serbia — led by Novak Djokovic — along with South Korea and the Czech Republic in Group B.
“I was very excited to play for 🇪🇸 Davis [Cup team] in Valencia, but I have to listen to my body after a very long tour,” Alcaraz tweeted. “I need to stop and rest, physically and mentally.
“The calendar is very demanding, there is still a lot of season left, and now I have to recharge my batteries. Good luck to the Spanish team! I will be supporting you strongly! Come on!”
Spain's team is captained by David Ferrer with The Spanish Tennis Federation going on to announce World No. 88 Albert Ramos-Vinolas as Alcaraz's replacement.
“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,” they announced (via Tennis 365). “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.”
With Alcaraz missing out on the group stage, his schedule for the rest of 2023 is shaping up like this:
- China Open – September 28 to October 4
- Shanghai Masters – October 4 to 15
- Swiss Indoors – October 23 to 29
- Paris Masters – October 30 to November 5
- ATP Finals – November 12 to 19