From 2019, the Davis Cup gets a completely new face. The tradition-rich tennis competition will be converted to a one-week tournament. The German Tennis Federation and Tennis traditionalists will experience a defeat.
For some, it is the death of a cherished Tradition, for others the dawn of a better time: The 118-year-old and slightly dusty Tennis-team competition, the Davis Cup is subjected to from the coming season, a radical reconstruction. With a wide majority of 71,43 percent of the votes, the vote at the meeting of the world Tennis Association ITF in Orlando/Florida in favor of the reforms. The resistance of the tennis Nations, great Britain, Australia, and Germany was not enough.
“For us, the result is a bitter disappointment, which makes us stunned,” said Ulrich Klaus, President of the German Tennis Federation (DTB): “We have assumed up to the conclusion that the majority of the member Nations would reasonable and Wisely to the vote. We have always stressed that we consider that certain adjustments in the Davis Cup is necessary – but not a Reform to abolish the established competition.”
Final tournament in November
ITF President David Haggerty and his followers had required a two-thirds majority, to their revolutionary plans into practice. Thanks to an intensive tour of advertising achieved in the run-up to the vote, and they exceeded this mark. Now the new Format is already celebrating in 2019 its Premiere – with a final tournament in November in Madrid or Lille (18. – 24.), in the case of the 18 Teams will play in the course of a week, the trophy is affectionately called derisively the “ugliest salad bowl of the world”.
Germany, the “ugliest salad bowl in the world won” in 1988, (photo), 1989 and 1993
In February, the participants will be determined in a qualification for which the German Team is set. Only three Matches will be played on two winning sets. So far, the 16 Teams in the world group playing the title-holders distributed over the year in four rounds, the last of the Superstars such as Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic were missing the Davis Cup.
Competition event of the ATP
Haggerty promised already “a Festival of Tennis and entertainment, this channel is for players, Fans, sponsors and TV-attractive”. He wants to ensure his Team that “the next generations of players can benefit in the next few decades of this historic decision”. Cosmos-a co-founder Gerard Pique, 2010, Spain football world champion, spoke at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando of a “historic” day, the a was for him personally the happiest of his life.
If the Status of the Davis Cup is actually changing and in the future, even the big Stars compete, you have to wait, because the ATP players ‘ organization has planned for the beginning of each year in Australia there is already a competition event. In addition, another team tournament will take place in September, with the Laver Cup.
Billion engage or billion bubble?
Disappointed and skeptical: DTB-President Ulrich Klaus
Despite all the concerns, many of the associations were primarily driven by the prospect of new revenue lure. Three billion dollars in 25 years, the investment group Kosmos promises to get the money. However, many organizations – including the DTB have – doubts about the long-term business and complain about games and the lack of transparency, as well as the few home.
“The Davis Cup will remove through the new Format unfortunately, by the tennis fans. We have always stressed that this must not happen, even if at the same time with large amounts of money is lured. Unfortunately, it was discussed in Orlando is almost exclusively about money and little about the Sport,” said DTB chief Klaus. For the German team captain Michael Kohlmann, the Reform destroy “the long Tradition of one of the most important competitions in the world of tennis, irrevocably”.
asz (sid, dpa)