Since the ITF’s proposals for a reform of the Davis Cup have been put on the table, the tennis world has become buzzing with excitement. But is everything about David Haggerty’s plans really that bad?
PRO:”Why fix it when it ain? t broke”, the US-American likes to ask. And then it can sometimes let it go, tinkers with a good thing – and makes it at least commercially better. Basically, nothing was wrong with the sports fans’ favorite Saturday activity in autumn, college football. From a sporting point of view. At the end of the short season there was a national championship game, the finalists were determined by a somewhat obscure system, no matter all of America has turned on.
And then the NCAA introduced a playoff before the final (not to everyone’s delight) – and earned a golden nose for it. ESPN is paying $470 million for the transfer rights for the qualifying round. Per year. Unfortunately, the students don’t get anything out of it, but the universities are getting richer and richer. And good sport is nevertheless offered.
The sums of money that David Haggerty calls out for his very special idea of a Davis Cup finals are moving in similar spheres. Three billion US dollars for 30 years, that’s an average of 120 million dollars per year. If only half of this amount is distributed equally to the 18 (this number, however, needs to be explained), more than three million US dollars would remain for each association. Especially since the effort for organizing several Davis Cup weekends would be unnecessary. With the exception of the associations of Australia, France, Great Britain and the United States, hardly any other national association could do without such a large amount of money.
And with that to the emotional side: Yes, the writer of these lines sat in Vienna’s Praterstadion when Thomas Muster delivered one of his big matches on Sand against Andre Agassi. Or a few years later, in a converted hangar at Vienna Schwechat Airport, when Austria played against the French. Jürgen Melzer in five against Gilles Simon. Unforgettable moments. Home games in the Davis Cup are something special, no question. On the other hand: What’s wrong with a fan trip to a national tournament where the top teams of the tennis world meet? And with several guaranteed performances? In the major team sports, this basically works very well, especially when it comes to the travel preferences of German fans for European handball championships, ice hockey World Championships or biathlon competitions in Pyeong Chang. If the identification of the players with the respective team is correct, then also the fans are carried away.
Was it all the more difficult for Alexander Zverev in Brisbane, supported by a small group of dedicated German fans, to play Australia against them than might have been the case in Frankfurt? Doesn’t such experiences create a special chemistry, not only in the team, but also between the professionals and all those who have experienced great victories on location?
And Alexander Zverev (who has not yet commented on the subject): Germany’s number one number one belongs to a generation that appreciates the tradition of tennis, but seems open to new things. Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev – these players will shape tennis over the next few years. And if it is within the framework of a completely new event, as suggested by David Haggerty – why not?
In contrast to American college football, the Davis Cup has been in bad shape for some years now. Boris Becker described this as “dusty” in a gentle way. But if all participants sit down at the same table, a better date will be found than after the end of the regular season.
Jens Huiber
Page 1: Yes, why not?
Page 2: Yes, why is that?