'I am very happy with the players' commitment and the team's enthusiasm' - Alcaraz joins Spanish Davis Cup team ahead of qualifier against Denmark

It is set up to be an extremely busy period coming up for Carlos Alcaraz. He competes in the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati over the next couple of weeks before making the trip to Flushing Meadows to pair up with Emma Raducanu in the US Open mixed doubles and challenge for the singles Grand Slam, an event he won in 2022.

After this, his services will be needed for his country, with Spanish captain David Ferrer announcing that the Spanish number one will represent his nation in a qualifying tie against Denmark. He will be joined by Washington runner-up Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, along with world number nine doubles pair Pedro Martínez Portero and Marcel Granollers, with a fifth player being announced in the coming days. Marc Lopez has also joined up the Spanish staff.

The world number two has previously had the honour of competing for his nation. He was too young to help Spain win their last Davis Cup triumph back in 2019, but he will be hoping to help them get over the line this time.

He has taken the mantle from Rafael Nadal, who helped Spain win the title five times. The 22-time Grand Slam winner's final game was at the Davis Cup finals last year, as they lost out to the Dutch 2-1 in the quarter-finals. They could have done with the former world number one, with the tie against Denmark being played on clay. This is the first time the Spanish have played on clay in three years.

This will come as a boost for Alcaraz, who has had strong success on the surface this year. He won in the Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo and Rome, defeating Italians Lorenzo Musetti and Jannik Sinner in those finals. The next time he would meet his arch-rival would be in the Roland Garros final, which proved to be one of Alcaraz's finest performances.

The Spaniard found himself two sets down to the world number one, but clawed his back into it, levelling the score at 2-2 just after he saved three match points. The final set would go all the way, with Alcaraz coming out on top in a thrilling tiebreak for his second Roland Garros win.

As well as Davidovich Fokina being considered a clay specialist, the Spanish side will be very happy with the surface they will play on. Despite this, Alcaraz's only defeat on the surface in 2025 came against Rune in Barcelona, breaking the home crowd's hearts as the 22-year-old won in straight sets to take the 500 title.

Alcaraz joins strong Spanish outfit

Spanish captain Ferrer will be glad to have Alcaraz on his team for what looks like a tricky opponent. Denmark boasts some strong talents, including world number nine Holger Rune. The Spanish team do go into the tie as favourites. They are ranked 7th in the Davis Cup rankings, above Denmark, who sit in 18th.