“The current format is not what the Davis Cup is meant to be,” said the two-time Grand Slam winner. “The Davis Cup was one of the biggest tournaments in men’s tennis, because five sets were played. The major tournaments and the Davis Cup, those were the only five-set tournaments. We threw that side overboard.”
And according to Hoyt, this isn’t the only problematic change. “It’s also a shame that you don’t have an audience, both domestic and abroad,” says the Australian. Previously, matches were always played in one of the two competing countries. Since this edition, there are a few cities hosting all matches in the final stage of the tournament.
There is a proposal for 2022 to complete the Davis Cup Finals in Abu Dhabi, which will be voted on at the International Tennis Federation meeting next week. Soon they will be selling the spirit of the Davis Cup to the Middle East for five years. I think it’s ridiculous and they’re killing the competition.”
Hewitt does not expect that he or other tennis players will be heard about the vote. “We had no opinion four years ago. Now we won’t make a difference either.”
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