Rafael Nadal brought the final point against Canada, after a week of home competition. Gerard Piqué promises improvements on this new highly criticized format.
The format has changed radically, there are still some habits that remain: when Rafael Nadal is there, Spain wins the Davis Cup. Already winner in 2004, 2008 2009 and 2011, the world No. 1 has added, Sunday, November 24, a fifth title, the sixth of Spain, in front of his audience and a room totally acquired to his cause.
After a heroic semifinal against the United Kingdom, where Nadal first brought the two teams to a tie before winning with Feliciano Lopez a decisive double unbeaten against the British pair Jamie Murray – Neal Skupski (7-6 (3) 7-6 (7)), the final against Canada was quieter.
Roberto Bautista led the way by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime (7-6 (3), 6-3), before the Mallorca ogre ended in beauty against Denis Shapovalov (6-3, 7-6 (7) ). A lot of intensity, matches in two sets, emotion: the magic of the Davis Cup has sometimes animated Madrid.
In a full house and in fusion, as in every match of Spain, no doubt that the final was up to the expectations of Gerard Piqué, the organizer of the revolution of the Davis Cup via his company Kosmos. " It's a fantastic start and an excellent starting point ", Said the president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) David Haggerty. However, this final is also the tree that hides the forest, so much polemics were numerous during this week.
Calendar rivalries
Starting with the stands: if the matches of Spain were refueled in Madrid, they are the only ones. The stadium in the meetings of the beginning of the week has sounded hollow, not to mention the opening ceremony, even if the atmosphere is gradually mounted. The Spanish public has moved primarily for its national team. At the same time, at the same time, Roger Federer, who shunned the competition, was on a triumphant tour of South and Central America: 42,517 spectators, according to the organizers, Saturday in an arena in Mexico for a match. exhibition against the German Alexander Zverev.
Another topic of tension: the format of the set-average to decide between the second of hens and decide the last two places in the quarterfinals. To protect themselves, several teams already qualified, like Canada, have skipped the double in their second game, losing by default 6-0, 6-0 in defiance of fair play. Conversely, the group match between Italy and the United States ended at … 4 am. " It's easy to solve Said Gerard Piqué Sunday, recognizing " schedule problems And announcing the possibility of using a fourth court next year.
France invited to the next edition
This edition of the new Davis Cup will not put an end to the rivalries that shake the courts of the world tennis. From 2020, the ATP, the professional men's circuit, organizes at the beginning of January the ATP Cup, the third team competition of the calendar, after the Laver Cup, which opposes a European team against the rest of the world over several days.
Supported by the ATP, it is currently placed in September, over a period that Kosmos would like to recover to move and the Davis Cup and extend it by one week. Asked about the absence of Roger Federer, Gerard Piqué put it on the account of commercial interests su Switzerland: " He has the Laver Cup, it's his baby, his competition that he obviously wants to protect. He wants to develop his exhibition as much as possible. Piqué assured that negotiations were still ongoing with ATP, hoping " announce something about it " in the coming months.
The next edition will take place again in Madrid, with the France team. Eliminated without glory in the first round, she will benefit from one of the two invitations of the International Federation, along with the four semi-finalists and Serbia. The other teams will have to compete in dams to get their ticket. It will be without Switzerland Federer.
This is what the draw looks like for the 2020 #DavisCup #ByRakuten qualifiers https://t.co/SzFb8AFej7
