“I haven’t decided on the lineup yet, in the next few days I’ll get all the information I need to choose.” So on the eve of Italy’s sold-out match against Brazil scheduled for tomorrow at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, the Italian Davis Cup coach Filippo Volandri is not giving any details about the players who will take to the court. Without his strongest champions, Jannik Sinner, fresh from the fatigue of the US Open, and Lorenzo Musetti, still tired after the Olympic efforts, Volandri is relying on the ‘veteran’ Matteo Berrettini, who is returning after having experienced last year’s victory as a spectator-companion, and on Flavio Cobolli, making his debut for the national team.
Tomorrow the Azzurri will be involved in the Davis Cup group stage against Brazil, after 31 years since the last time in 1993, while Belgium – who we face after 7 years since the last match in 2017, in which the Italians lost 3-2 in the quarterfinals in Charleroi – and the Netherlands of Griekspoor and Van de Zandschulp, beaten last year in the quarterfinals in Malaga, will be our opponents respectively on Friday and Sunday, when Jannik Sinner should also be in the stands of the Emilian stadium to cheer on his teammates in search of the ‘pass’ for the Davis finals that will be held in Malaga.
This year too, the formula is the same as in 2019: each match involves two singles matches and one doubles match, all best of two sets out of three.
For the challenges in Emilia, in addition to Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Arnaldi, Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli have also been called up. Among Italy’s opponents in the group, against whom we will always play starting at 3 pm, Holland is the strongest and most well-known team, with high-ranking players. As for Brazil, there is the unknown Joao Fonseca, number 158 in the ATP ranking, an 18-year-old talent with a bright future. Both have a great doubles, but Italy also has it with Vavassori-Bolelli.