Carlos Alcaraz’s Davis Cup captain may have already made a mistake before the Finals start

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The 2025 Davis Cup Finals begin next month, as eight teams will travel to Bologna with title ambitions.

Team Spain, captained by David Ferrer and led by world number one Carlos Alcaraz, are one of the pre-tournament favorites, despite last winning the event six years ago.

The two-time defending champions, Italy, will be without star man Jannik Sinner this time around, as the 24-year-old plans to finish his season at the ATP Finals in Turin.

Spain may well be the favorites, but who will line up for the country in Bologna?

Ferrer has selected Alcaraz, Jaume Munar, Pedro Martinez, and Marcel Granollers.

However, Ferrer may regret not picking one player, who continues to impress on the ATP Tour…

David Ferrer might wish he picked Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Pedro Martinez

26-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has enjoyed the best year of his career in 2025, reaching a career-high ranking of 15th in the world.

It doesn’t look like he’s slowing down either, as he reached his third final of the year last time out in Basel, coming up short against Joao Fonseca.

Bouncing back from that defeat, Davidovich Fokina took down home favorites Valentin Royer and Arthur Cazaux to reach the last-16 in Paris.

However, despite all his success in 2025, the number-two-ranked Spanish player wasn’t picked for the Davis Cup Finals squad.

Instead, Ferrer went with Munar and Martinez, the world number 36 and 92.

Ferrer’s decision to pick Martinez appears particularly strange, given the struggles he’s had recently.

Martinez hasn’t won a match since the Winston-Salem Open in August and will arrive in Bologna in some of the worst form of his career.

Pedro Martinez’s losing streak

• 1. Winston-Salem Open 2R [LOSS] vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
• 2. US Open 1R [LOSS] vs Leandro Riedi
• 3. Genoa Challenger 1R [LOSS] vs Andrea Picchione
• 4. Bad Waltersdorf Challenger 1R [LOSS] vs Marko Topo
• 5. Shanghai Masters 1R [LOSS] vs Arthur Cazaux
• 6. Valencia Challenger 1R [LOSS] vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
• 7. Swiss Indoors Q1 [LOSS] vs Kamil Majchrzak
• 8. Paris Masters Q1 [LOSS] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Seeing a player riding an eight-match losing streak picked ahead of him left Davidovich Fokina frustrated and understandably so…

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina believes he ‘deserved’ to be picked for Spain’s Davis Cup team

During an interview with Marca, Davidovich Fokina was asked for his thoughts on Ferrer’s team selection.

“Being ranked 18th in the world, I believe I deserved to be among the top four players in my country, with all due respect to my teammates, who, as I’ve said, are also great players,” he said.

“It was Captain David Ferrer’s decision, and I respect it. Obviously, I would have loved to be on the roster representing my country, but this time he decided to include other players. 

“David [Ferrer] called me a week ago to tell me he wouldn’t be including me in the initial squad. Before that call, I had already told him he could count on me. It will always be an honor for me to represent Spain, but in the end, it was his decision, and I accepted it.”

Davidovich Fokina was missing for Spain’s two previous Davis Cup ties in 2025, against Switzerland and Denmark.

He insisted that he was injured, however, and doesn’t believe that should have cost him a spot in November’s squad.

“I missed those qualifiers due to physical problems. This year, I’ve competed non-stop, and my withdrawals in Toronto and Cincinnati were a warning sign about my condition. The captain was aware of everything and in communication with me and my team,” said Davidovich Fokina.

Only time will tell if Spain and Ferrer will regret not taking Davidovich Fokina to Bologna, but it will no doubt be a point of discussion should Martinez struggle.

Spain will begin their Davis Cup campaign against the fourth seeds, Czechia, when the tournament begins on Tuesday, November 18.