Davis Cup Final 8 2024: Preview and how to watch Rafael Nadal's farewell live
Can Rafael Nadal end his professional tennis career in style with Spain, or will Jannik Sinner help Italy retain their Davis Cup crown?
Tennis
The tennis season comes to an emotional end in Malaga at the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 from 19-24 November.
Tennis will bid farewell to one of its greatest players in Rafael Nadal with the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion contesting his final professional tournament on home soil.
With Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz set to reprise their ‘Nadalcaraz’ doubles partnership, Spain will be more motivated than ever to secure a first crown since 2019. However, reigning champions Italy will be among the favourites with world number one Jannik Sinner - having already won the Australian and US Opens in 2024 - spearheading their title defence.
The Davis Cup is referred to as the men’s World Cup of tennis, as top players represent their nations to be crowned world champions. For the third year in succession, Malaga's Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena will host the Final 8 phase.
Scroll down for everything you need to know about the final stage of this year's Davis Cup.
2024 Davis Cup Final 8 – format and schedule
As the name suggests, this is the final stage of the Davis Cup featuring eight nations, who will face off in a knockout tournament beginning with the quarter-finals on Tuesday (19 November).
Teams will play best-of-three ties comprising two singles rubbers and a doubles decider if necessary.
Typically, the second-ranked singles players will contest the first match, followed by the top-ranked singles players. Match-ups will be announced an hour before the stated start time.
The Davis Cup Final will take place on Sunday 24 November with the winners earning the title of men's tennis world champions.
To view the full schedule on Olympics.com, click here.
Italy are the defending Davis Cup champions after they beat Australia in the 2023 final.
2024 Davis Cup Final 8 – key teams and players
Olympic silver medallist Alcaraz, Nadal and Sinner are far from the only big names competing on Spain's Costa del Sol.
Taylor Fritz leads a strong USA squad with the US Open runner-up hungry for success alongside Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul.
Marcel Granollers, ranked third in the world in doubles, gives Spain added depth while German pair Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz showed what they can do by claiming the men's doubles title at the ATP Finals in Turin last weekend.
Alexei Popyrin leads last year's runners-up Australia with Alex de Minaur set to miss out due to a long-term hip injury. Botic van der Zandschuip, who stunned Alcaraz at the US Open, heads the Dutch challenge.
Francisco Cerundolo, one of the heroes of Argentina's crucial win over Great Britain in September, will hope to upset defending champions Italy in the quarter-finals, while Denis Shapovalov - fresh from winning his first ATP Tour title for five years in Belgrade last month - and Felix Auger-Aliassime carry Canada's hopes.
2024 Davis Cup Final 8 – how to watch live
Movistar holds the rights for the host nation with Tennis Channel screening the event in the United States.
Australian viewers can catch the action on both beIN Sports and Nine, while the rights in Canada are shared by CBC and TVA.
A full list of broadcasters for each country can be found on the official Davis Cup website.