Roberto Bautista Agut must feel like the black sheep of the (tennis) family. The Spaniard makes no secret of the fact that he really likes the new Davis Cup format. And “RBA” also justifies this.
For Yannick Noah, it’s as clear as dumpling broth. “If these people call it the Davis Cup next year, it’s nothing but a lie. Don’t let him fool you: The competition is dead,” said the charismatic French captain after the last final of his kind a week and a half ago in Lille against Croatia (1:3).
Roberto Bautista Agut, however, who failed with Spain in the semi-final against France, sees things quite differently. “It is true that next year’s date is not ideal because it takes place very late in the season. But this format change gives us three free weeks a year, and it gives us an incredible break after the long tournament tours we do,” said the 30-year-old in an interview with Castellon Plaza.
The final tournament of the “new” Davis Cup, called the World Cup of Tennis, is scheduled to take place in Madrid at the end of November 2019 with 18 teams for just under a week. So, even after the ATP finals in London, which were the season finale so far.
Bautista Aguts argument is that the original dates of the quarter-finals and semi-finals in April and September respectively will be dropped by the new mode.
Nevertheless, the criticism remains harsh. The soul of the Davis Cup, as many people call it, has been sold. And to an opaque consortium called Kosmos, which is backed by a Japanese billionaire and Spanish football star Gerard Pique.
The company had promised the world federation ITF the payment of three billion US dollars over the next 25 years for the Davis Cup deal. Also the Fed Cup is to be restructured in the course of this. Apparently, the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup are planned to take place in parallel at one location.