Malaga's Alejandro Davidovich returns to the fold as he earns Davis Cup recall

Spain’s Davis Cup captain, David Ferrer, has named Alejandro Davidovich among the squad for their opening-round tie against Switzerland in Biel on 1 and 2 February. The 25-year-old from Malaga returns after a prolonged spell out of the team due to poor form.

Davidovich joins Pedro Martínez, Roberto Carballés and Pablo Carreño in a line-up missing high-profile names such as Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista and Marcel Granollers.

Despite the absentees, Ferrer expressed confidence in his choices, saying the selected players “can adapt well to the indoor hard courts and get us off to a strong start in this new Davis Cup format”.

This year’s format sees February winners returning in September to fight for a spot in November’s finals in Italy. Spain’s opponents, Switzerland, lack top-ranked players following Roger Federer’s retirement and Stan Wawrinka’s decline. Nowadays, their best hope lies with Alexander Ritschard, ranked 121st, supported by Jerome Kym and Leandro Riedi.

Spain have dominated their Davis Cup history against Switzerland, winning five of their six meetings. The last encounter was in 2010, where Spain prevailed 4-1 in Logroño.

The tie follows the Australian Open, which starts on 12 January, giving players limited recovery time.