If the Christkind gets it right: It runs well in international tennis. But small improvements are always possible.
On the one hand, there is the urgent request that the best in the industry should have a year free of injury. Often there is force majeure in play, sometimes a smooth bathroom floor, but however great the joy of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s renaissance in 2017 has turned out to be: a whole year without a Federer-Djokovic or Nadal-Murray match – this will be in the home of tennis fans soon enough.
It would also be desirable from the point of view of all those involved (players, associations, fans) if the world’s best would agree with themselves whether they still want to hold a competition like the Davis Cup. And if the answer is positive – objectively speaking, there is little to be said against it – then a voluntary commitment by all stars to actually participate would be a real blessing.
A rather small wish, also intended as an educational measure: How would it be, if the ball children are released from the sad duty to give the players their towels? Admittedly, no spectator can see that a professional drips with sweat after a double fault of his opponent, so that a drainage is absolutely necessary. However, if this is the case, then the needy person himself or herself could take hold of the textile.
The ladies are to be wished: Stay as you are. If there is a slightly quieter version of some of you – just accept it. And stay as you are.
A suggestion to the referees’ guild: Maybe the rules are strict, but you don’t have to be too. Chopped-up clubs always make wonderful souvenirs, especially for young fans. A warning, which is also subject to a fee, contributes little to customer care for the next generation of viewers. Better a player shows that he cares about winning than he does not.
Last but not least, there is the hint that it would be fantastic if several tournaments followed the example of the Miami Open: Not only do you treat the animal kingdom with great care, but if a iguana wants to see Tommy Haas’ farewell performance, then the creature is allowed to do the same. Rufus, the old falcon, has long been an institution in Wimbledon. In Australia, the kangaroo is omnipresent in programmes and on posters. But Courtside at the Rod Laver Arena? Where is the Gams, the tournament director Alex Antonitsch in Kitzbühel, where the Fiakker team in the Wiener Stadthalle? Problems could only arise in Rome: A wolf, especially untamed, would probably put too much tension on the Foro Italico.