Next week, the tennis world will once again be dominated by the Davis Cup. The Davis Cup group stage will be played from September 10 to 15, 2024, and the Netherlands has once again qualified. National coach Paul Haarhuis's team will face Belgium, Brazil, and defending champions Italy in Group A, who won the Davis Cup last year under the leadership of world number one Jannik Sinner. Who will represent the Netherlands in Davis Cup tennis this time? What is the Davis Cup schedule, and when will the Davis Cup final take place? Sjeng Sports has everything you need to know!
Robin Haase is back in the game
Haarhuis has selected five players for the matches against Belgium, Brazil, and Italy. The singles specialists will be Tallon Griekspoor (ATP-39), Botic van de Zandschulp (ATP-68), and Jesper de Jong (ATP-131). The latter is having a strong year and is making his debut in Haarhuis's squad. The doubles specialists, Wesley Koolhof and Robin Haase, will travel to Bologna, where the Group A matches will be played. For Haase, this is the first time in two and a half years that he has been part of the Dutch national team. He has been selected over other doubles specialists such as Jean-Julien Rojer and Matwé Middelkoop.
The Davis Cup matches come at an excellent time for Van de Zandschulp. The Veenendaal native had a difficult year, but recently played convincingly at the US Open, defeating Denis Shapovalov before pulling off a dramatic upset victory over none other than Carlos Alcaraz. Griekspoor also gained confidence with two victories at the same US Open, while doubles players Koolhof and Haase will undoubtedly be looking to return to their best. Haase thanks to his Davis Cup selection for the first time in two and a half years, while Koolhof will retire at the end of 2024 and will therefore be playing his final Davis Cup matches for the Netherlands.
The opponents
Belgium
The Netherlands will play three times in the group stage in Bologna, with Belgium as their first opponent on September 10th. On paper, the Netherlands is the favorite against the Belgians, who have sent Zizou Bergs (ATP-72), Raphaël Collignon (ATP-194), and Alexander Blockx (ATP-253) as singles players and have two doubles specialists in Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen. David Goffin is normally the undisputed number one for Belgium in singles, but the experienced Goffin is absent this time. This is because the 33-year-old Belgian's wife is about to give birth.
Brazil
On September 12, Brazil will be the Dutch team's second opponent. They have chosen to send Thiago Monteiro, Joao Fonseca, and Felipe Meligeni to Bologna as singles players, while Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo will, in principle, take on the doubles matches. Melo will turn 41 shortly after the Davis Cup group stage, making him one of the oldest players competing in the Davis Cup group stage. However, he shouldn't be underestimated: Melo is a former world number one in doubles and has won 38 doubles titles since joining the Tour in 2007.
Italy
Last in this group, on September 15th, Haarhuis's team will face the strong defending champions Italy . It's a welcome thought for Griekspoor and Van de Zandschulp, among others, that Jannik Sinner, the world number one, will be absent in Bologna. He won the US Open last Sunday and will now be rested. Lorenzo Musetti is also absent, but Italy still has a very strong team. Matteo Berrettini, Flavio Cobolli, and Matteo Arnaldi are on the lineup, and the Italian national coach has selected Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli as doubles specialists.
Davis Cup 2024 group stage schedule Netherlands:
September 10: Netherlands – Belgium (3 p.m., Bologna)
September 12: Netherlands – Brazil (3 p.m., Bologna)
September 15: Italy – Netherlands (3 p.m., Bologna)
The Netherlands must try to qualify among the top two teams in the group. The top two teams in the group will qualify for the Final 8 of the Davis Cup Finals. These will be held in Malaga, Spain, from November 19th to 24th. The other six teams qualifying for the Final 8 come from Groups B, C, and D. These teams will also try to qualify in the coming days. Below is an overview of all the groups that will be playing Davis Cup tennis this week.
Group A (Bologna): Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil
Group B (Valencia): Australia, Czech Republic, France and Spain
Group C (Zhuhai): Germany, United States, Slovakia and Chile
Group D (Manchester): Canada, Finland, Great Britain and Argentina
