Feliciano Lopez’s Cup runneth over…
The 41-year-old Spanish tennis player has been appointed tournament director for the Davis Cup finals, the International Tennis Federation has announced.
Lopez, who won the competition with Spain four times, plans to end his playing career after this year.
The group stage will take place from September 12-17 in four European cities followed by the last-eight event in Malaga, Spain, from November 21-26.
“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,” Lopez said in the ITF announcement. “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.”
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%.
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.
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 has 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.
Lopez represented Spain in the Davis Cup five times and helped his country win it in 2008, ’09, ’11 and ’19.
“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.
Lopez became tournament director of the Madrid Open in 2019.
A three-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, Lopez is set to play in the grass-court Mallorca Championships beginning June 25.
