By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday, November 27, 2022
For the reason that Davis Cup modified its format in 2019, making the finals a gaggle affair with a bunch metropolis, eliminating best-of-five matches, and making ties better of three with doubles as a decider, many have voiced sturdy unfavorable opinions on the path of the competitors.
In the present day, after falling within the closing to Canada, Aussie captain Lleyton Hewitt, one of many competitors’s best warriors, expressed views on the truth that doubles, the calling card of some nations, doesn’t even come into play in some ties.
He was requested how he felt about the truth that 4 units (with none doubles) may resolve a Davis Cup Closing, whereas previous to 2019, 4 units may not be sufficient to resolve one singles match.
“Everybody is aware of my emotions,” Hewitt stated, earlier than clarifying that now isn’t actually the fitting time to present constructive criticism. “I do not assume now could be the time to speak about it.”
However, Hewitt expressed sympathy for the Dutch crew, and others who pleasure themselves on having stellar doubles pairings.
“Coming right here this week, I felt disillusioned for the Dutch crew, for instance,” he stated. “You recognize, they have two high quality doubles gamers, they usually do all of the laborious work all 12 months to return and carry out within the so-called largest stage of the 12 months, and they do not get the possibility to play a match. I believed that is a failing on this idea the entire time, and nobody is listening.
“So I can discuss until I am blue within the face, however nothing’s altering proper now. We simply maintain placing Band-Aids – properly, we do not, however sure folks put Band-Aids on issues. It is not fixing the issue.”
Hewitt referenced the Mark Woodforde and Tood Woodbridge, Davis Cup stalwarts for the inexperienced and gold again within the day.
“I got here up taking part in with one of the best doubles crew on the earth, the Woodies, on the time,” he stated. They arrive into this format and they do not get to play a match? And so they have made {that a} large precedence? I do not assume that is proper.”
The modifications made in 2019 had been made for myriad causes. To assist entice higher-ranked gamers (and all gamers) to decide to the competitors was a predominant precedence, with the considering that making ties extra digestible and fewer bodily demanding would foster extra participation.
However there have been unwanted side effects, comparable to diluting the doubles and eradicating the drama that used to return from having ties linger over three days with doubles center-staged on Saturday.
HAGGERTY – WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE FORMAT
For the report, ITF president David Haggerty believes the competitors is the place it must be within the present second. He says the gamers take pleasure in the truth that they don’t must spend 4 weekends in the course of the season, and that the bodily calls for positioned on the gamers are much less. It have to be famous that the ATP season is packed, and all gamers are overworked on tour, by way of play and journey. It’s a grind, and the Davis Cup solely makes it tougher. For this reason the brand new format was created, and that’s the reason organizers need to keep it up.
“I believe simply to bolster, I believe that we’re very, very proud of the format and the modifications that we’ve now,” he stated. “It doesn’t suggest that someday sooner or later we could not take into account, however we really feel an important factor is to stabilize. The gamers like this. They’ve informed us that. They like the 2 singles and the one doubles. It really works on the time of the seasons that we play.”
The brand new Davis Cup is quick and livid, however maybe an excessive amount of so. However allow us to keep in mind that the previous format was relentlessly complained about till organizers had no selection however to vary it.
There could also be no going again, and maybe returning to the previous format could be a mistake – however perhaps there’s a compromise that might doubtlessly fulfill a bigger share of followers who now really feel that the competitors has been gutted past restore.
Whereas many pine for house and away ties on each Davis Cup weekend. Kosmos, which owns the Davis Cup, and the ITF, are extra involved in having the occasion take form extra just like the World Cup, with worldwide followers flying to a bunch metropolis to expertise the occasion.
It hasn’t precisely labored but. In Spain, which has hosted the ultimate since 2019, solely 21 % of ticket consumers had been from exterior the nation.
“In the event you check out the attendance as of late, it is fairly good,” stated Enric Rojas, CEO of Kosmos. “I believe that one factor that we should enhance, properly, should or we must always enhance, is that that is the World Cup of tennis. We actually need to be a extremely worldwide occasion having as many worldwide followers as attainable.
“So I gave the information of getting 21% of individuals exterior of Spain. That, for me, is the most important level to be improved. If we are able to get, I do not know, about 50/50 or one thing like that, it occurs in lots of different sports activities world wide, that may be nice.”
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