With the tennis majors now wrapped up for 2024, the focus swiftly shifts to the Davis Cup. It is an incredibly quick turnaround as the group-stage matches get underway just a few days after the conclusion of the US Open, as the 16 teams look to book their place in the finals later this year in Malaga. Of the teams featuring over the next five days, 12 qualified earlier this year, Italy and Spain automatically earned their spots by reaching the 2023, and Great Britain and Spain were wildcard picks.
The Davis Cup group stage matches begin today Tuesday, September 10, 2024, and run through to Sunday, September 15. These fixtures are taking place across four venues. Group A matches are in Bologna, with Valencia hosting Group B. All Group C fixtures will take place in Zhuhai, China, with Manchester the venue for Group D. The two top teams in each of the four groups will qualify for the knockout stage in Malaga in November.
These Davis Cup ties are best-of-three rubbers, played on the same day. There are two best-of-three singles matches, followed by a doubles match.
TV channel and live stream: The Davis Cup Finals will be shown live on the Tennis Channel, which costs £2.49 a month in the UK after a seven-day free trial. Great Britain’s three matches will be available for free on BBC iPlayer.
Davis Cup: Great Britain vs Finland
Great Britain rested Jack Draper for their opening tie of the Davis Cup following his epic US Open semi-final defeat four days earlier; debutant Billy Harris helped the hosts to victory over Finland in Manchester. Britain's first tie of the tournament came just four days after Draper's physically draining US Open semi-final in New York, where he was beaten by eventual champion Jannik Siner. Team captain Leon Smith subsequently opted to give the British No 1 extra rest following practice ahead of tougher ties against Argentina and Canada at Manchester's AO Arena on Friday and Sunday respectively.
However, the hosts still had more than enough to ensure victory over last year's surprise semi-finalists ahead of the doubles, with debutant Billy Harris taking the decisive win with a 6-4 7-6 (4) triumph in his rubber with Otto Virtanen. At 29, Manxman Harris is the ultimate late developer having finally made his way to the upper echelons of the sport over the last 12 months after years spent touring round Europe in a converted transit van. This was a tricky first match against 23-year-old Virtanen, ranked only nine places lower than Harris at 110 and who played a key role in Finland's run to the last four in 2023. The Finns were without their No 1 Emil Ruusuvuori through injury, though, and Virtanen's attempts to force a deciding set fell just short.
Harris was in complete control against an erratic opponent until 4-2 in the second set, when he missed multiple chances to secure a double break and was immediately pegged back, but withstood pressure to force a tie-break and showed composure to clinch the victory.
Billy Harris' Debut Performance
“It was always going to be tough coming in playing No 1 with Jack and Cam [Norrie] and people not around,” Harris said. “But I thought I went out and played a good match. Definitely a few nerves in there, you’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for team and country. But as soon as it got going I felt good out there. A very proud moment and I’m happy I put in a good performance.”
Dan Evans' Landmark Performance
Before Billy Harris stormed to victory on his Davis Cup debut, Dan Evans wrapped up the win in the opening match of the tie against Eero Vasa. Evans' clash with Vasa was a landmark occasion for the British veteran, who by playing in his 26th tie in the competition surpassed Andy Murray to claim joint second place in the British standings alongside Mike Sangster and behind only Bobby Wilson. He would not have been a bigger favourite in any of his previous 37 rubbers, but Vasa played well above his standing of world No 703 during a tight first set.
“I knew his ranking, which probably made it a bit more difficult, there’s a lot more pressure for me to win the match,” said Evans, who has slipped to 178 in the world after a difficult 12 months. “As well as Billy being a debutant, I really wanted to be 1-0 up, just would help him out a bit more. I did well to weather the storm, and it was pretty comfortable in the end. Every week is great, it’s amazing to be part of the team. I don’t know how many more times I’ll get a chance, so I’ll carry on enjoying it.”
The Doubles Match
However, Finland manage to avoid being swept as Virtanen teamed up with Harri Heliovaara to beat Evans and Neal Skupski 7-6 (4) 7-5 in the doubles.
The doubles action is just about to get started and you can tune into that now by clicking on the link at the top of this page. We’ll be back on Friday when Great Britain take on Argentina in their second Davis Cup tie. Perhaps with the returning Jack Draper among their ranks… See you then!
Davis Cup: The Bigger Picture
With the win against Finland, Great Britain has earned their first point of the 2024 Davis Cup. They will still play the doubles match as should there be a tie at the end of the week, total wins and losses will be taken into account. Great Britain will take on Argentina on Friday before facing Canada on Sunday in their final round of group matches. It's not yet confirmed when Draper will next be in action, but after a brief hiatus the ATP Tour swings back into action with events in China and Japan from September 16 onwards. The Chengdu Open (ATP 250) and Hangzhou Open (ATP 250) tournaments will be live on Sky Sports Tennis from that week, followed by the China Open (ATP 500) in Beijing and Japan Open (ATP 500) in Tokyo from September 23. All matches will be watchable on Sky Sports as Draper looks to improve his impressive form on hard courts (17 wins - 9 losses), and across the calendar year (30-18) depending on where he next decides to play.
Davis Cup: Looking Ahead
The Davis Cup is a prestigious tournament that brings together the best players from different countries to compete for national glory. With the group stages underway, the competition is heating up. Keep your eye on the Davis Cup action as the competition continues towards the finals in Malaga.
