World No.69 Gilles Simon has accused the International Tennis Federation (ITF) of disregarding the opinions of the ATP Players Council in their decision making.
Simon, who is a member of the council, said that the group is a ‘subject to their decision’ in reference to the governing body. The ITF is currently in the process of trying to generate enough support to change the format of the Davis Cup. Earlier this year a plan was revealed for a 18-team event to take place over one week at the end of the year. Supported by a 25-year $3 billion investment from Kosmos, the event would be held at a neutral venue. Removing home and away ties from the competition.
“I’m very much at ease with all of this because we have absolutely no influence on Davis Cup whatsoever.” Simon told reporters in Monte Carlo on Tuesday.
“The ITF can make announcements, changes, and we can’t do anything. Well, we can try and make some noise, but in the end we have no influence. We are just subject to their decisions.”
The motion to change the Davis Cup has been met with anger from some. French team captain Yannick Noah said the change could turn the event into a ‘circus.’ Meanwhile, Lucas Pouille has hinted that he would be open to boycotting the new-look event in the future if it is approved. Becoming the only top 20 player to publicly say this.
Despite the sharp criticism from the French contingent, 33-year-old Simon is keeping an open mind about the idea. Supporters have argued that it is being done to accommodate players’ scheduling commitments better. Hoping that it will attract more high-profile names to the event. Although Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev all recently played in the current format of the event.
“I believe that it’s been a long time that we’ve been talking about the Davis Cup format. I heard about it since I’ve been on the tour, in fact. We talked about it on the players’ council, with the ITF. There’s no magic solution, otherwise we would have found it a long time ago.” The French player explained.
“There are requests for change on one side. But every time a suggestion is made, everybody is saying no, it’s not good. So it is complicated. Davis Cup has not the same importance according to the different players and according to the different countries. So pleasing everyone isn’t going to happen.”
During his career, Simon has played in a total of 12 Davis Cup ties since 2009. Winning eight out of 18 matches played. When asked about his view concerning the ongoing debate, Simon stated that he is taking a back seat to the argument. Saying that he is just ‘sitting back and enjoying watching it.’
A vote on the new ITF proposal will take place in August. It requires at least two thirds backing to go ahead.
