Tennis star breaks silence with angry statement after being snubbed by own country

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has claimed that he "deserved to be among the best players" in his country after being snubbed from Spain's Davis Cup squad. Davidovich Fokina is up to a career-high ranking of No. 18 this week and has enjoyed a successful season, reaching three tour-level finals.

But his name was noticeably absent when Spain's team for the upcoming Davis Cup Finals was unveiled on Monday. Instead, Carlos Alcaraz, Jaume Munar, Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers all received the call-up from captain David Ferrer.

Despite being Spain's No. 2 singles player, Davidovich Fokina was not included in the squad. The 26-year-old has now clarified that he had been ready and willing to represent his country at the Davis Cup Finals next month, but Ferrer chose not to include him.

"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," Davidovich Fokina told Marca.

"David called me a week ago to tell me he wouldn't be counting on me for the first squad. Before that call, I had already told him he could count on me. I'll always be proud to represent Spain, but in the end, it was his decision, and I accepted it."

Davidovich Fokina was forced to miss Spain's qualifier tie earlier this year, opting to rest after a difficult North American hard-court swing. The world No. 18 was forced to retire from the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati in August due to injury.

After losing in the second round of the US Open, Davidovich Fokina took a much-needed break and did join the Spanish team for their qualifier matches against Denmark - something that might have impacted Ferrer's decision about the squad for Finals week.

"I missed those qualifiers due to physical problems. I've been competing tirelessly this year, and my withdrawals in Toronto and Cincinnati were a warning about my condition," Davidovich Fokina explained.

"The captain was aware of everything and was in communication with me and my team."

Captains can nominate up to five players per team, and Spain currently has four men in the squad. Davidovich Fokina is still keen to represent his country in future seasons, but he's not keen on becoming a last-minute addition for next month's Davis Cup Finals.

He added: "Being ranked 18th in the world, I think I deserved to be among the four best players in my country, with all due respect to my teammates, who, as I said, are also great players. Now, my goal is to focus on the rest of the season and prepare myself to reach the highest level next year."

The Davis Cup Finals kick off on November 18. The Spanish team will face Czechia in the quarter-finals, and the winning nation meets Argentina or Germany in the semi-finals.

France, Belgium, Italy or Austria are potential opponents in the final. Two-time defending champions Italy are without their best player this year, as world No. 2 Jannik Sinner opted tp skip the team tournament.