Davis Cup makeover plans approved
ORLANDO: World tennis chiefs on Thursday approved a radical Davis Cup revamp that will overhaul the 118-year-old competition, condensing the annual worldwide showpiece into an 18-team, week-long event.
The shake-up for the men’s team tournament received 71.43 percent support from about 120 delegates at the International Tennis Federation annual meeting in Orlando, well ahead of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.
ITF president David Haggerty supported the revamp proposed by Kosmos, a group led by Barcelona football star Gerard Pique -who flew in from Spain for the vote -- and backed by Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, that has vowed $3 billion over 25 years to support the new event.
Haggerty called the reform plan “key to ensuring that the ITF and its member nations will guarantee a bright future for the sport.”also backing the reconstituted event is US billionaire Larry Ellison, who hopes his Indian Wells tennis facility would host the 2021 edition of the finals after the first two were played in Europe. The current Davis Cup format is a knockout event played February, July, September and November at home and away venues around the globe, best-of-five match ties following Grand Slam events until the final round.
Many top players have skipped it in recent years to ease their schedule load.
The reform plan will create a November finals with 18 teams: 12 winners from 24-team home and away qualifying in February, the prior year’s four semi-finalists and two wild-card nations.
Round-robin groups of three would send six group winners and two runners-up into knockout round playoffs.
The finals would feature two singles matches and one doubles match each day, all cut to best-ofthree sets.
Haggerty said the arrangement would provide about $25 million annually for national tennis associations to invest in grassroots level support, with the United States, France and Spain among those thought to support the move.
Opponents of the plan include Tennis Australia and Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), with Aussie Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt calling it a “money grab” and too great a departure from the current format.
“Unfortunately their plan is a recipe for the death of the Davis Cup as we know it,” Aussie legend John Newcombe said.
The LTA cited concern over holding the event in November, stretching the schedule after the ATP season-finale into an already-thin off-season, risking top player attendance, fan support and telecaster interest. The LTA also wanted more clarity on financial issues and a plan with greater unity among membership. JAKARTA: Miffed at not getting a “specialist” men’s doubles partner, veteran tennis star Leander Paes pulled out of the 18th Asian Games starting on Saturday.
The 45-year-old Indian, winner of 18 Grand Slams, was asked to team up with struggling singles player Sumit Nagal after All India Tennis Association (AITA) agreed to pair country’s top doubles players Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan in the men’s doubles, on their request.
Paes was already miffed at his exclusion from TOP Scheme but had made himself available for the Asian Games, where he has won eight medals, including five gold. “It is with a heavy heart that I have to say that I will not be playing the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia,” Paes said.
“Despite my repeated requests, from so many weeks in advance, it is sad that we have not been able to put a doubles specialist in the team for a credible second doubles pairing for the Asian Games.”
With Sharan and Bopanna deciding to play together, captain Zeeshan Ali had no choice but to pair Paes with Nagal or Ramkumar Ramanathan.
While Ramkumar is primarily a singles player and plays doubles occasionally, Nagal is in terrible form. He has lost nine straight first round matches on the Pro circuit, coming into the Asian Games.
Paes has questioned why AITA didn’t field two specialist doubles teams. “Ramkumar Ramanathan is a very good player, and I would love to play doubles with him. But considering that he has a golden chance to win the singles medal, it is not fair to distract him from his best event,” Paes said further in the statement.
Paes was to return to the Games after missing the previous two editions. “Our doubles specialists like Sriram Balaji, Vishnu Vardhan, Purav Raja and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan have been doing exceptionally well this season and one of them definitely deserved to strengthen the Asian Games squad,” Paes said.
India as of now have five players in top-100 -- Bopanna (32), Sharan (38), Paes (79), Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (88) and Purav Raja (90).
The next best two players -- N Sriram Balaji (112) and Vishnu Vardhan (115) were also in top100 some weeks back.
Paes, however, asserted that his absence would not adversely affect India’s chances.
“Rather than affecting the team’s chances, I believe that my absence would only help the rest to play more events, be it doubles or mixed doubles,” he said.
“I have been in constant touch with captain Zeeshan Ali and have had long discussions with him with regard to Rohan Bopanna’s injury.