Andalusia is all dressed up to host the most important team tennis tournament of the year. The top 8 teams will compete in the quarterfinals, aiming to be crowned as the best team in the world in 2023. The José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace will witness action from Tuesday the 21st to Sunday the 26th, the day of the grand final.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) organizes this event, which originated 123 years ago when the USA challenged Great Britain, competing under the name British Isles. The most successful team in the competition's history, with 32 titles, overcame the British in a surprising turn of events.

The current format, established in 2019, envisions a Davis Cup Final Tournament, evolving over the years. In the current tournament, it will be a direct elimination in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.

In addition to the opening match between Canada and Finland, there will be three more quarterfinal games in three days of competition. On Wednesday at 4:00 PM CET, the clash is scheduled between the previous finalist Australia (the second most successful with 28 titles) and the Czech Republic (3 titles, one of them as Czechoslovakia).

Thursday will be a double shift. In the morning (10:00 AM local time), Italy will face the Netherlands, while in the afternoon (4:00 PM), Serbia, aiming for its second title, will play against Great Britain, which has 10 titles. The Serbians have the world's number 1 player (and the all-time Grand Slam winner), Novak Djokovic, coming off his seventh Masters title in Italy. The British team has lost the former world number 1, Andy Murray (Liam Broady replaces the veteran due to injury).

Friday and Saturday will feature the semifinals, and the final is scheduled for Sunday the 26th at 4:00 PM in Spain.

The Contenders:

If it were based on rankings, it is indisputable that the Italians and Serbians have the upper hand as they are the only ones with top 10 players in their teams: Italy (Sinner 4th) and Serbia (Djokovic 1st), both specialists on fast courts and under a roof (like the Spanish court). The Serbians also have Laslo Djere from Serbia (33rd) as the second seed, and Italy has Lorenzo Musetti (27th). Both seem to be strong contenders to snatch the title from Canada (defending champion), but the Davis Cup is special, and many players enhance their attributes when representing their country, making it unpredictable and appealing regardless of rankings or favoritism.

The Serbians will debut against Great Britain (Cameron Norrie 18th and doubles player Neal Skupski 3rd), and the Italians will do the same against the Netherlands (Tallon Griekspoor 25th). If both win, there will be an "early final" in the semis.

In the other bracket, Australia will try to compete with Alex de Miñaur (12th) and seek revenge for the defeat against Canada (who will be without champions Shapovalov and Pospisil) in the 2022 final. If both win their quarterfinal matches against (the young and inconsistent) Czech Republic and debutant Finland (with Emil Ruusuvuori as the only singles player in the top 150), there will be a rematch of what happened a year ago in Andalusia.

The Teams:

Canada

Felix Auger-Aliassime - Gabriel Diallo - Alexis Galarneau - Vasek Pospisil - Milos Raonic

Captain: Frank Dancevic

Finland

Emil Ruusuvuori - Otto Virtanen - Patrick Kaukovalta - Harri Heliovaara - Patrik Niklas-Salminen

Captain: Jarkko Nieminen

Czech Republic

Jiri Lehecka - Tomas Machac - Jakub Mensik - Adam Pavlasek

Captain: Jaroslav Navratil

Australia

Alex de Miñaur - Max Purcell - Jordan Thompson - Thanasi Kokkinakis - Matthew Ebden

Captain: Lleyton Hewitt

Italy

Jannik Sinner - Lorenzo Musetti - Matteo Arnaldi - Lorenzo Sonego - Simone Bolelli

Captain: Filippo Volandri

Netherlands

Tallon Griekspoor - Botic van de Zandschulp - Gijs Brouwer - Wesley Koolhof - Jean-Julien Rojer

Captain: Paul Haarhuis

Serbia

Novak Djokovic - Laslo Djere - Dusan Lajovic - Miomir Kecmanovic - Hamad Medjedovic

Captain: Viktor Troicki

Great Britain

Cameron Norrie - Jack Draper - Neal Skupski - Joe Salisbury

Captain: Leon Smith

All-time Champions:

United States 32

Australia 28

Great Britain 10

France 9

Sweden 7

Spain 6

Czech Republic and Germany 3

Croatia and Russia 2

Argentina, Italy, South Africa, Serbia, and Switzerland 1