French players united in defeat against Davis Cup overhaul

said Mahut, without giving details.

Lucas Pouille, who was thrashed in straight sets by Marin Cilic on Sunday a year after he wrapped up France’s 10th title, said he would not play in the Davis Cup anymore.

“Last year I was crying of joy, this year I was crying because I was sad,” Pouille said. “I’m not going to change my mind about the new format. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to play in the Davis Cup anymore. That was the last time.”

The ITF said it expects the new format will help generate more money for tennis development around the world. A $3 billion, 25year deal has been agreed by the ITF with Kosmos, an investment group founded by the Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.

Mahut claimed tennis stakeholders should have come up with better solutions.

“There are other means to find money. The Grand Slams tournaments could have given some of their revenues and the Davis Cup would have been saved,” Mahut said. “We needed to find ways to lighten the schedule, we had so many good ideas to save that competition. There were other solutions.”

France’s Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah, who oversaw his last Davis Cup match this weekend and will be replaced by Amelie Mauresmo, is also a fervent opponent of the overhaul.

“It will never be the same, it’s going to be something else,” said Noah, who guided France to three Davis Cup titles. “I really hope this is not going to be called the Davis Cup. Playing two sets is not the Davis Cup. They are lying. I told (Haggerty) to his face I’m disgusted and upset because this is the way I feel. The Davis Cup was so much for me.”

THIBAULT CAMUS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The French team, from the left, France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Pierre Hughes Herbert, Nicolas Mahut, Jeremy Chardy , Lucas Pouille and team captain Yannick Noah sing the national anthem before the Davis Cup final between France and Croatia Sunday in Lille, northern France.