World No.1 Novak Djokovic has called for radical changes to be made to the current format of the Davis Cup.
Numerous tennis officials have called for a change to the 116-year-old tournament in order to attract the biggest names in the sport. Many notable players such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have missed ties in the tournament this year due to their scheduling commitments. Currently the Davis Cup occurs at various times throughout the year and are played over a weekend (Friday – Sunday). Whilst the structure is keeping in with tradition, it has received heavy criticism from Djokovic.
“Obviously the Davis Cup format, as it is, doesn’t work anymore. There are not many top players that are participating in Davis Cup for many previous years.” He said.
“Throughout the whole year, it’s a big challenge because of the schedule.”
The solution to the state of the historic event is currently unknown. One potential idea is for the final of the tournament to be hosted at a neutral venue. Another is to introduce a ‘super four’ format, where the semifinals and finals would occur during the same week, a proposal that has attracted the support of the president of the International Tennis Federation, David Haggerty. Djokovic is also in support of a ‘final four’ format, but he would like to see it taken to the next level and follow in the footsteps of international football tournaments.
“I definitely stand for the change in format,” the world No.1 stated.
“I think that the best way is to create some kind of structure that is similar to, let’s say, European or World Championships in football: create one event in one year or two years that would be held over two weeks’ time. Make four groups, winners of all groups go to playoffs. Create really an attractive, not just for us tennis players, but for fans, for media, for everybody, for sponsors.”
Djokovic is currently scheduled to play in Serbia’s upcoming tie against Great Britain. The encounter in Belgrade will start on July 15th, only five days after the Wimbledon men’s final.
The Davis Cup criticisms from the Serbian came shortly after his second round win over Adrian Mannarino, where he became the first man in the Open Era to win 30 consecutive grand slam matches. In the third round, he will play either 28th seed Sam Querrey or Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci.
