Federer unable to commit to new Davis Cup
Roger Federer has revealed that organisers of the re-launched and condensed Davis Cup gave him three days to decide if he would commit to the controversial competition.
Speaking at the Swiss Indoors tournament, where he played in Sunday’s final against Romanian qualifier Marius Copil, the world number three said that given the impossibly short timeframe to make a decision, he opted out of any commitment. “They only left me three days to decide. I didn’t have time to consult all the people I had to consult. I could not make a decision in that time, so I told them to do what they wanted,” he said.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has voiced doubts about the wisdom of the oneweek format to be introduced by organisers Kosmos, who have promised the International Tennis Federation up to $3bn (about R44bn) in prize money over the next quartercentury.
The competition is set to feature 18 countries in the November 18-24 finals in Madrid next year, and will replace the classic home-and-away ties played four times a year for decades.
Kosmos is headed by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, who is hoping fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal will play in the upcoming event. Novak Djokovic has said he would give precedence to the ATP’s intended re-launch of the defunct World Team Cup in January 2020, in Australia.
Major players feel a big event in late November, combined with one in January before the Australian Open will mean too much tennis and too little rest.
Federer said earlier this month in Shanghai that his chances of playing the Davis Cup were all but non-existent.
“I don’t think this was designed for me, anyhow. This was designed for the future generation of players,” he said.
Argentina and Britain will compete along with the four 2018 semifinalists and the 12 teams who win qualifying rounds in February.