This week the final part of the Davis Cup is being played in Malaga (Spain), all of them decisive matches, starting with the quarterfinals. We invite you to remember what this tournament with more than a century of history looks like now and what has happened in recent years.
The Davis Cup was founded in 1900 as a match between tennis players from the United States and Great Britain (more precisely, at that time the name “British Isles” was used). If it had remained a tournament for these two countries, it would probably have been forgotten quite quickly, but it turned out differently: the geography of the participants began to expand rapidly, despite the fact that reaching distant countries in those years, of course, was a lot. harder than it is now. The arrival of passenger aviation, especially mass aviation, was still several decades away, and crossing the ocean by boat was not a quick task.
The tournament regulations changed several times, but this occurred mainly in parallel with changes in the rules of other tennis competitions. Thus, the Challenge round was cancelled, allowing the current champion to play only one decisive match per year: in the Davis Cup, the champion also had a double advantage, because he also played this decisive matchup on his own court all the time. Also choosing the surface of the courts. Hard courts did not exist in those years, but the difference between grass and clay, of course, was very great. Then a tiebreaker was introduced, which made it possible to avoid endless games until the difference was two games; Since all Davis Cup matches were played in a five-set format, this was a good effort saver for the tennis players.
Davis Cup Trophy
Photo: Ángel Martínez/Getty Images
One of the most important features of the Cup for many years was the home and away matches. In the first meeting of any two teams, the host was determined by drawing lots, and for repeated meetings, the principle of alternation was used: the team that last played with this opponent away from home received a home match, then vice versa. , and so on. . Such regulations existed at all levels of the Davis Cup, divided into several divisions, except for the divisions for the weaker national teams.
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Everything has changed since 2019, when the Kosmos investment group arrived with the participation of the famous footballer Gerard Piqué. Huge funding ($3 billion) was promised for the coming decades, and by majority vote, tennis federations around the world adopted regulatory changes, creating a true revolution in the tournament. By the way, many of the countries that voted were not affected by these changes at all, because they played in lower divisions and were never in the elite World Group. That is, there, among the strongest teams, the home and away matches were almost completely canceled, leaving only one qualifying round before the final. In the final, 18 teams met, they were divided into six groups and they were all sent to play in Madrid, allocating only one week for it. The number of matches in each matchup was reduced from five to three, and the matches themselves were played in three sets instead of five.
In 2019, the hosts, the Spanish, were proclaimed champions in this format; in 2020, the tournament could not be completed due to the pandemic, which ruined the entire tennis season, and in 2021, the Russian team with Daniil Medvedev and Andrei Rublev. He became the strongest. Unfortunately, the Russian team had no chance to defend the title. Although tennis became one of the sports least affected by subsequent events, the national team continued to be eliminated from team tournaments. It should be noted that this year the Davis Cup is being held for the 111th time, and the draw with these beautiful numbers was again left without the Russian team, which, with the current representation of the best players, would clearly be among the main favorites.
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As for Kosmos, earlier this season the ITF (International Tennis Federation) announced that it was ending the agreement, originally designed for 25 years, and regaining control of the tournament. Officially, the reason was given as problems with payments for the “Covid” seasons: the ITF believed that the investment group should pay more for them and the company did not agree with this, but active discontent with the format is likely , including current and former players, pushed to make this decision. We’ll see if the format changes in the future, but there are no major changes planned for next season, at least a return to home-and-away matches in each phase of the tournament. By the way, since last season at least the group stage and the knockout matches were divided: now the final round groups are played in September, and the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are played in November.
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This year, the Davis Cup was left without a venue in the group stage in September: the Spanish took third place along with the Czechs, the Serbians and the South Koreans. At the same time, the teams from the United States, France, Croatia and Switzerland, who had recently won the main trophy of the tournament, left the competition. And the Canadian team, which last year won the Davis Cup for the first time in its history, was immediately eliminated from the playoffs. The Canadians managed to lose to the Finns, for whom their leader, Emil Ruusuvuori, did not even play (although Felix Auger-Aliassime did not help the Maple Leaves either).
Novak Djokovic
Photo: Ángel Martínez/Getty Images
The most interesting confrontation of this Cup is expected in the semifinals, where the Serbian and Italian teams will meet. Both Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, who had just met twice at the ATP Final Championship, flew to Malaga. It is clear that first their teams still need to win the quarterfinal matches, but there they will be clear favorites. The Italians will face the Dutch and the Serbians will play against the British; Andy Murray was initially announced for the latter, but closer to the tournament he withdrew due to new health problems.
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By the way, Novak was not among the tennis players who criticized the new format. On the contrary, he was quite happy with the Serbian and played in 2019, 2021 and this season in the group stage. Sinner didn’t seem to complain either; Furthermore, he belongs to a new generation and young people have always been more open to change. It should be noted that tomorrow, November 23, the quarterfinals will be played with the participation of Italy and Serbia, on November 25 a possible semifinal will be played between them and on Sunday the 26th the final will be played.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS