After exiting the US Open in the quarterfinals, Carlos Alcaraz made a choice that surprised many. Instead of representing Spain at the Davis Cup, he opted to play for Team Europe in the Laver Cup. Having played the Davis Cup for the last two years, he was expected to feature this year as well. But the decision he made led to intense criticism. However, prominent tennis coach Rick Macci came to Alcaraz’s support and explained why he chose to play the Laver Cup.

“Carlos (Alcaraz) super smart to play Laver Cup and not Davis Cup,” he wrote on X. “No need to flip the script from hard to clay just to play. Remember for 139 days he was on the shelf to get better and feel like his old self. The Spanish Magician and his team are the Only Ones who know what is best and sometimes it is more rest before another quick test because barring injury Carlos will someday be right there in slams with the best of the best.”

Macci also called out Alcaraz’s critics, who have raised questions over his mentality. He feels that people don’t understand that humility is one of the Spaniard’s biggest strengths and has helped him in achieving success.

“People chirping about Carlos being too nice and needs to be more ruthless or whatever. This is so far off as they do not understand the makeup of greatness comes in many shapes and sizes. The Spanish Magician and one of his MAGICAL SUPERPOWER IS HUMILITY blended in with his ABILITY. You do not change a gift like that,” he wrote in another X post.

Alcaraz will be teaming up with some of the best players in the world at the Laver Cup. Team Europe includes the likes of Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, Casper Ruud, Rafael Jodar and Jakub Mensik. While Arthur Fery has been chosen as the alternate player, the team is captained by Yannick Noah, and Tim Henman is the vice-captain. The tournament will begin on September 25 and will be played at the O2 Arena in London.

This is the first time that the Laver Cup is returning to the venue since the famous 2022 edition. This was where Roger Federer played his final competitive match and teamed up alongside Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. It will be quite hard for the upcoming edition to match that kind of hype.

Like Team Europe, Team World is also filled with superstars. The lineup includes Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik, Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima and Francisco Cerundolo. The team is captained by Andre Agassi, with Pat Rafter as the vice-captain and Ignacio Buse as the alternate player.

On the other hand, even though Alcaraz decided to snub the Davis Cup, the Spanish team had no problems reaching the quarterfinals. They produced a dominant performance against Chile.

The Spaniards proved to be too good in their tie against Chile. With Alcaraz absent, the likes of Daniel Merida, Rafael Jodar and Martin Landaluce stepped up in singles matches. The Spanish pairing of Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez also won their doubles match as the team thrashed Chile 4-0.

The tie began with Merida racking up a hard-fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Alejandro Tabilo to hand Spain the advantage. Jodar then recorded a one-sided 6-0, 6-2 win over Cristian Garin.

The duo of Munar and Martinez settled the tie with their comfortable 6-0, 6-3 victory against Alejandro Tabilo and Tomas Barrios Vera. Landaluce rubbed salt in the wound for Chile as he defeated Matias Soto 6-2, 6-3.

Spain has marched into the quarterfinals, where they will be up against Austria. The match will be played on November 24 in Bologna, Italy. It will be interesting to see if Alcaraz will decide to join the team for the upcoming match.