Tennis News: Personnel problems in Davis Cup team: Top four including Zverev missing

The German tennisThe team is going into the group phase of the Davis Cup with a significantly weakened squad and will have to do without Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer. This was announced by the German Tennis Association. Struff is still suffering from hip problems after his first-round exit at the US Open, and Koepfer will be out for around five weeks with a tendon injury to his hitting arm. Zverev is currently still playing in the Grand Slam tournament in New York and will not be available in China from September 10 to 15.

Since Daniel Altmaier is currently out of form and will not be playing, the German team will compete without its four best-ranked players in the world rankings. Davis Cup team manager Michael Kohlmann nominated Yannick Hanfmann, Maximilian Marterer and, for the first time, Henri Squire, as well as doubles specialists Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz.

“It hurts a lot that our top players, Jan-Lennard and Dominik, were unavailable at short notice, because both are important parts of this team, not just as players, but also as personalities,” said Kohlmann. The aim now is to compensate for the losses with “team unity.” “Yannick and Maximilian, who are moving up, have already proven that they can score points for Germany in the Davis Cup.”

It is about qualifying for the final tournament

In China, the German team will play against the USA, Slovakia and Chile in Group C. The two best teams from each of the four groups will advance to the final tournament in Malaga from November 19 to 24. The 2024 Davis Cup winner will be crowned there.

In the qualification in Hungary in February, Struff and Koepfer won the points in the singles. At that time, Zverev was absent due to illness.

The group phase in China begins for the German team just two days after the men’s final at the US Open on September 10 against Slovakia. In New York, Struff, Koepfer, Altmaier and Marterer were eliminated in the first round, while Hanfmann and Squire failed in qualifying.

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+++ Editorial note: This report was created based on material from the German Press Agency (dpa). If you have any comments or questions, please contact [email protected]. +++

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