World No.1 Rafael Nadal has reiterated calls for a re-evaluation of the two principal men’s team competitions following Spain’s loss to Serbia in the final of the ATP Cup.
The 19-time grand slam champion lost his singles match on Sunday to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. His ninth consecutive defeat to his rival on a hard court. Nadal has endured a mixed time at the new event, which offers both ranking points and prize money. He also lost to Belgium’s David Goffin the quarter-finals. Prior to this year, Nadal had only ever lost one singles match when representing his country in a team event.
Branding the ATP Cup as a ‘long competition,’ Nadal has echoed previous comments that there should be a merger of the two principal events. At the end of November the Spaniard also took part in the newly revamped Davis Cup finals, which took place over seven days. Under the current calendar, just over a month separates the two events. A situation Nadal argue is not plausible in the long term.
“I think is a great competition, but at the same time I can’t change my mind that two World Cups in one month is not real.” Nadal said during his press conference.
“We need to find a way to fix it and we need to find a way to make a big deal with the ITF and ATP to create a big World Team Cup competition, not two World Cups in one month.’
“I think that’s a confusion for the spectators, and we need to be clear in our sport .And for the health of our sport and for the benefit of our sport is, in my opinion, mandatory that we fix it.”
Unlike the Australian tournament, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation. It has been given a hefty injection of money following a 25-year investment from Kosmos. Which was founded by Barcelona football player Gerard Pique. The ITF is reluctant to end their historic competition, which dates back to 1900. Meanwhile, the ATP are unlikely to ditch their newly launch event that attracted a total of 220,219 fans this week.
Lending his support behind a ‘super cup’ of men’s tennis, Nadal was reluctant to go into full details about his views on Sunday. When asked when he believed the best time would be for the event to take place, the Spaniard sidestepped the question.
“I can’t tell you my real opinion,because will not make sense today. And it’s not that easy. Is a little bit longer conversation.” He stated.
Nadal, who is a member of the prestigious ATP Player Council, is not alone in his calls for a merger. Both Djokovic and Denis Shapovalov have echoed similar sentiments in the past.
There are no signs of an agreement for a merger anytime soon. However, Kosmos founder Pique has previously said that he was hopeful that a compromise can be reached in the future. Hoping to find an agreement with new ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi, who has taken over from Chris Kermode.
“They [Nadal and Djokovic] want a two-week super-event and we are totally in favour of it because we would relax and we could put 24 teams instead of 18.” Pique told as.com in November.
“To do this we have to reach an agreement with the ATP and take the competition in September or October, after the US Open.
“There they would arrive with less ware. Nole and Rafa have said it and we agree.
“We’ve been trying to talk to the ATP for a year, but Chris Kermode was going to leave the presidency and it hasn’t been easy.
“With the new (Italian Andrea Gaudenci) we are convinced that we can reach an agreement in the coming months.”
