LONDON-The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will be held over 11 days rather than seven and will almost certainly be staged across three cities, the International\u00a0Tennis Federation (ITF) confirmed on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The changes proposed by the ITF\u2019s event partner Kosmos Tennis, the Spanish-based investment firm who are pumping in $3 billion over 25 years, were agreed by the ITF Board. This year\u2019s event is scheduled for Nov 25-Dec 5. The ITF confirmed that two more European cities are being sought to share the staging of the 2021 Finals with Madrid which hosted the first edition of the revamped competition in 2019. Another change is to have the Finals trimmed from 18 to 16 teams from 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to make it better for the players, better for the fans and better for the teams,\u201d Kris Dent, ITF Senior Executive Director, Professional Tennis, told Reuters. \u201cPeople love the idea of the best teams in the world coming together for one event, but seven days, especially the day after the ATP Finals, it\u2019s just not possible so these changes we think will make a great competition even greater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 121-year-old men\u2019s team event underwent a major revamp in 2019 with the season-long home and away tie format replaced by a soccer World Cup-type format with the top 18 nations battling for the title at Madrid\u2019s Caja Magica in November. While there was praise for the new event which ended with Rafa Nadal leading Spain to victory over Canada in the final, the logistics of playing 25 ties, each consisting of two singles and a doubles, on three courts in seven days was challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One tie between the United States and Italy ended at 4am, local time. \u201cWe believe we did a great event in 2019 but for sure there were things to improve, like the scheduling and the attendances in the stands,\u201d Davis Cup Finals Tournament Director Albert Costa told Reuters. \u201cWith the new format and the new project we have now I believe we will solve all those problems. Eleven days is better for the players because you can\u2019t play five ties in seven days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 10-week bidding process opened on Monday for European cities keen to join Madrid in hosting the 2021 Finals. Turin, the new host of the ATP Finals, would be a logical option while London is another potential co-host. The two additional cities would each host two group stages and one quarter-final each, with Madrid hosting two group stages, two quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final. \u201cPlayers we have spoken to over the last few days alone have shown real excitement at being able to add another couple of cities, making it even more a World Cup of tennis,\u201d Dent said. \u201cWe\u2019re quietly confident we will get a good show of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A final decision is expected by March based on the hosting and COVID-19 contingency proposals received from bidders. Last year\u2019s event was postponed because of the pandemic. Costa believes three cities would enable more \u2018home\u2019 fans — a traditional aspect of the Davis Cup. \u201cThree host nations means a wider audience and more fans will be able to see their players at home and that\u2019s something that players like and fans like,\u201d the Spaniard said. The reduction to 16 nations for the Finals from 2022 would also make for a \u2018cleaner\u2019 format, says Costa, with four groups of four and the top two progressing to the quarter-finals. Twelve of the 16 nations would come through the qualifying ties held earlier in the year, with two ITF wildcards and the winners and runners-up from the 2021 event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON-The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will be held over 11 days rather than seven and will almost certainly be staged across three cities, the International\u00a0Tennis Federation (ITF) confirmed on Monday. The changes proposed by the ITF\u2019s event partner Kosmos Tennis, the Spanish-based investment firm who […]<\/p>\n
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