NEW DAVIS CUP ‘NOT DESIGNED FOR ME’

SHANGHAI — Roger Federer added his heft to the growing debate around the controversial newformat Davis Cup, saying on Thursday that “this was not designed for me”.

The inaugural Davis Cup finals are slated for a week in Madrid in November 2019 as part of a revamp to the competition, but it has been contentious with players.

Alexander Zverev, the world number five, said at the Shanghai Masters that he will not compete in the men’s team event because it comes at the end of a long season.

Third-ranked Novak Djokovic agreed on Thursday that the timing was “really bad” and he also looks unlikely to feature.

And then Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion, added his voice to the debate when quizzed after beating Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the Shanghai quarterfinals.

“No, I highly doubt it, of course. We’ll see what happens,” said the 37-year-old, who has been carefully managing his schedule since 2017 to wring the most out of his ageing body.

“I don’t think this was designed for me, anyhow.

“This was designed for the future generation of players.” —