No. 1 Alcaraz to Miss Spain’s Davis Cup Finals Opener

Tennis - Davis Cup - Group B - Spain v Serbia - Pavello Municipal Font de Sant Lluís, Valencia, Spain - September 14, 2022 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz stands with teammates during the national anthem before play. (Reuters)
Tennis - Davis Cup - Group B - Spain v Serbia - Pavello Municipal Font de Sant Lluís, Valencia, Spain - September 14, 2022 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz stands with teammates during the national anthem before play. (Reuters)
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No. 1 Alcaraz to Miss Spain’s Davis Cup Finals Opener

Tennis - Davis Cup - Group B - Spain v Serbia - Pavello Municipal Font de Sant Lluís, Valencia, Spain - September 14, 2022 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz stands with teammates during the national anthem before play. (Reuters)
Tennis - Davis Cup - Group B - Spain v Serbia - Pavello Municipal Font de Sant Lluís, Valencia, Spain - September 14, 2022 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz stands with teammates during the national anthem before play. (Reuters)

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz will skip the opening round of the Davis Cup Finals on Wednesday, which is taking place only three days after the Spanish teenager won the US Open.

Alcaraz arrived in Valencia a day before Spain was scheduled to face Serbia in the group stage.

Sunday’s victory over Casper Ruud in Sunday’s US Open final saw the 19-year-old Alcaraz become the youngest man to lead the ATP computerized rankings since they began in 1973.

Albert Ramos Viñolas and Roberto Bautista Agut will line up for Spain in the singles matches on Wednesday, with Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez in the doubles.

Granollers and Bautista Agut were part of Spain’s victorious Davis Cup team in 2019.

After facing Serbia, which is without Novak Djokovic, Spain will take on Canada on Friday and South Korea on Sunday in Group B. The top two teams in each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played in November in the southern Spanish city of Málaga.

Three other venues — Bologna, Italy; Hamburg, Germany; and Glasgow, Scotland — are also hosting group matches.



Lewandowski Scores 7th Goal to Give Barcelona 7th Straight Win in Spanish league

25 September 2024, Spain, Brcelona: Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Spanish Division Primera soccer match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Gerard Franco/DAX via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
25 September 2024, Spain, Brcelona: Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Spanish Division Primera soccer match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Gerard Franco/DAX via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Lewandowski Scores 7th Goal to Give Barcelona 7th Straight Win in Spanish league

25 September 2024, Spain, Brcelona: Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Spanish Division Primera soccer match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Gerard Franco/DAX via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
25 September 2024, Spain, Brcelona: Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Spanish Division Primera soccer match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Gerard Franco/DAX via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

With Robert Lewandowski on target again, Barcelona extended its perfect start to the Spanish league season.
Lewandowski scored his seventh goal in as many matches and Barcelona won its seventh in a row in the league by defeating Getafe 1-0 at home on Wednesday.
The triumph gives Barcelona its second-best league start ever, equaling the seven victories it also earned at the start of the 2017-18 season. The Catalan club won eight straight to start the 2013-14 season, The Associated Press reported.
“I'm really proud about my team. They fight 90 minutes or 95 minutes," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “But also I'm very proud because the fans they realized that we needed them and they give everything. It's a good connection at the moment and I'm really happy about that.”
Barcelona has outscored its opponents 23-5 in its first seven games this season. It has a four-point lead over defending champion Real Madrid, which on Tuesday beat Alaves 3-2.
Lewandowski got his league-leading seventh goal from close range in the 19th minute. He picked up a loose ball inside the area after Getafe goalkeeper David Soria couldn't hold on to a high cross into the area.
The Poland striker, who had scored twice in a 5-1 rout of Villarreal on Sunday, was replaced by Pedri in the 77th.
Lewandowski's goal was Barcelona's 6,500 in 3,035 league matches, according to the club.
Iñaki Peña started in goal in place of Marc-André ter Stegen, who sustained a serious knee injury in the team's previous league match.
Barcelona players entered the field with a T-shirt with words of support for Ter Stegen, who is one of the team's captains.
Getafe, which nearly equalized with Borja Mayoral from close range in stoppage time, remains winless and in second-to-last place.
“That was a big scare, but the ball didn't goal in and we left with the three points,” Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde said.
Also Wednesday, Girona and Rayo Vallecano drew 0-0 in Girona.
Barcelona plays at Osasuna on Saturday. It then visits Alaves the following weekend.