(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic could return to action in the Davis Cup later this week after capturing his 24th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open and Serbia team mate Miomir Kecmanovic said on Monday the 36-year-old can give them a huge advantage.
Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in New York on Sunday to lift his third Grand Slam title of the year and equal Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 major singles titles.
The world number one is set to travel to Valencia and join the Serbia team for their Davis Cup Finals group stage ties with South Korea, Spain and Czech Republic, although he is likely to feature only in the final two clashes.
“We can’t wait to have him for Friday,” Kecmanovic told a news conference before their Group C opener against South Korea on Tuesday. “It definitely takes a little bit of the pressure off since he always carried the team so well.
“But our focus is to get through Tuesday, hopefully get the win and then start a little bit more relaxed on Friday.”
Spain will be without Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz when they take on Serbia on Friday, after the 20-year-old withdrew to recover following his U.S. Open semi-final defeat by Medvedev.
“It was tough because Carlos is an important player, one of the best players in the world,” Spain captain David Ferrer said. “But I trust my team. I’m very confident we can do a great week and can compete with everyone.”
Sweden face Chile, France meet Switzerland and the Netherlands play Finland when the group stage kicks off on Tuesday across four cities – Bologna, Manchester, Valencia and Split.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the knockout rounds in Malaga, which take place from Nov. 21 to 26.
Defending champions Canada clinched their first title in the men’s premier team event beating Australia in last year’s final.
They are joined by the 12 winners of the 2023 qualifiers – Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Britain, South Korea, Netherlands, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States – apart from wild cards Italy and Spain.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru)
