![<p>Rafael Nadal of Spain fields questions from the media during the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 14. — AFP</p>](https://i.dawn.com/primary/2022/08/62fb2eecd0986.jpg)
PARIS : Rafael Nadal will miss the Davis Cup finals group stage after being left out of Spain’s squad on Monday, while Alexander Zverev will captain Germany.
Nadal, 36, won the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year, extending his men’s record tally of Grand Slam singles victories to 22.However, due to an abdominal injury, he was forced to retire from Wimbledon before his planned semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.
Nadal returns to the Cincinnati Masters this week to prepare for the US Open, but he will not play in his first Davis Cup match since winning the title for the sixth time with Spain in 2019.Instead, Spain will look to adolescent sensation Carlos Alcaraz for inspiration.
Sergi Bruguera’s team will compete in Group B, which will be held in Valencia from September 13 to 18.