The explosive Davis Cup duel between Israel and Germany takes place in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Due to the uncertain situation in Israel due to the Middle East conflict, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled out hosting the event in Israel.
The ITF has now scheduled the game for February 1st and 2nd in Vilnius and will also act as organizer since the Israeli association was unable to present a neutral location. Both teams have until Wednesday next week to nominate their squads.
Germany the clear favorite
In terms of sport, Germany goes into the game as the clear favorite. There is currently no Israeli player ranked in the top 500 in the world. On the German side, Alexander Zverev is very likely to be missing again, as the first round game follows directly after the Australian Open, which begins this Sunday, where the world number two is aiming for his first Grand Slam title. Only if Zverev were to retire early in Melbourne would there be a small chance that the Tokyo 2021 Olympic champion would play in Vilnius.
Last year, Germany narrowly missed out on making it to the final. In the final round in Malaga, national coach Michael Kohlmann’s team had to admit defeat to the Netherlands.
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