IN November, the 2021 Davis Cup takes place across three cities in Europe as 18 teams aim to lift the ultimate international men’s team prize. Six groups of three sees the group winner automatically advancing to the knockout quarter finals, with the two next best nations also moving through. In the lead-up to the event, Rookie Me Central will be previewing each of the nations in reverse world ranking order.

HUNGARY

Rank: 23rd

Captain: Gabor Koves

Hungary is the second lowest ranked side in the Davis Cup, and there is little doubt they are up against it, taking on two of the stronger sides in Croatia and Australia. Croatia is ranked second in the world, with Australia 11th, though the latter could be even more dangerous than the former if the singles combination can live up to expectations. The dangers are the likes of Marin Cilic and Alex de Minaur for the respective oppositions, but even more so, the Croatian doubles pairing of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are number one in the world.

It means Hungary will need to find a way to victory through the singles, but are not the worst positioned side out there, with 39th ranked Marton Fucsovics able to cause upsets against higher quality opponents. Second seed Attila Balazs is down at 130th, with no depth after that from the singles perspective, which makes life tough if one is unavailable. Regardless, if Hungary is any chance, Fucsovics can not afford to lose a match. Being able to bring in some potential young talent is also important for Hungary.

Fabian Marozsan, Zsombor Piros and Mate Valkusz are all early 20s and the next generation of Hungary. They will get great experience in this tournament, with Marozsan likely to team up with Fucsovics in the doubles. Neither are ranked high though at 518th and 323rd respectively, which makes life tough. If they can do damage in the singles, they could worry the other sides.

Prediction: 3rd in Group D

IN A SENTENCE: “Fucsovics has the potential to cause headaches for Hungary, but realistically, the nation does not have the depth to beat Australia or Croatia in the group stage.”

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Picture credit: Getty Images

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