Will Alexander Zverev help?: German tennis men aim for Davis Cup title

For the first German Davis Cup title since 1993, the German Tennis Association is hoping that top player Alexander Zverev will return to the team.

“I think that to really hold up this salad bowl, everything has to fit together – from the players, from A to Z in the end,” Said team boss Michael Kohlmann (50). “At the end of the day, we all have big goals, not just us as an association, but also the boys. And everyone will win this Davis Cup again at some point.”

In Zhuhai, China, the German selection, despite a severely weakened squad, managed to qualify for the final round in Malaga, Spain, from 19 to 24 November.

The DTB justified the absence of world number two Zverev from the group phase shortly after the US Open in New York with travel strains. This would have been particularly difficult for Zverev because the German number one is playing in the Laver Cup in Berlin in the new week.

Struff and Koepfer back?

The injured Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer are also unavailable. “We definitely hope that we will win over one or two people in Malaga. We will have to wait and see who that will be.”said Kohlmann.

After two opening victories against Slovakia and Chile (3-0 each), the German team lost 1-2 to the USA at the end of the group phase and only gained a point thanks to the successful doubles pair Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz. The duo had reached the final at the US Open.

In addition to Krawietz/Pütz, Yannick Hanfmann, Maximilian Marterer and Henri Squire were also selected in Zhuhai. The team finished the group in second place behind the USA and will face a group winner in the quarter-finals in Malaga. The draw will take place on Thursday.