Rafa Jódar to lead Spain against Chile in Davis Cup playoff

Rafa Jódar will make his Davis Cup debut as Spain's leading player when they face Chile in the playoff for a place in the final eight in Bologna.

The 19-year-old from Leganés has risen to 11th in the ATP rankings during a breakthrough season, having been outside the world's top 350 a year ago.

He reached the final in Washington three weeks ago before making the semi-finals in Montreal last week, his best result at a Masters 1000 event.

"It's a huge honour to represent Spain for the first time. I had the chance to be a sparring partner two years ago in Valencia and it was an incredible experience," Jódar said. "I can't imagine what it's going to be like as a player. I'm really looking forward to it."

As Spain will be without the injured Carlos Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovich, coach David Ferrer has selected Daniel Mérida, Martín Landaluce, Jaume Munar and Pedro Martínez in addition to Jódar.

The clash in Santiago will feature two singles matches on Saturday 19 September, followed by doubles and two singles matches the following day.

The winners will qualify directly for the eight-team finals in Bologna from 24 to 29 November.