Does Davis Cup need an overhaul?

[byealmeens]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey573639

Obviously a lot of players choose not to play it due to the difficult nature of the tour including top plays like Fed and Muzza. I've heard a suggestion where the Davis cup becomes compressed into a single event much like the Rhyder Cup for golf or the World Table Tennis Championships and plays almost like a WTF for teams i.e. lots of sponsors, one venue which changes every half a decade or so, perhaps 2 or 3 weeks etc.
Opinions?

I agree that it does need an overhaul. I think the easiest initial adjustment is to make it best of 3 sets … I see no reason why it needs to be best of five. As far as the format, my suggestion is to run a year-end tournament as others have suggested, similar to WTF, with the top eight countries participating. The top four, however, would be the countries that made it to the semis of the previous year’s tournament. The other four would be determined through the standard DC format we use today. This way there is a big incentive to get to the semis of the tournament and it would give those countires most of the year off. Also, with 4 spots pre-determined, more countries can be allowed to compete in the regular pool to determine the other four. Just a thought …

[*Sparkle*]

Originally Posted by Sorana fan

It's not anyone's fault that UK hasnt got good tennis playerS enough

Why would it need to be someone's fault? I was merely pointing out why I struggle to get excited about it from a nationalistic point of view, and that the format only really works for countries with a bit of depth to their talent pools, so that is one aspect to be taken into consideration when working out how to get more people to take it seriously, or if you are going to mess with how ranking points are allocated.


[Nevertheless, I would say there are organisations within the UK that could do better, but that's a different debate for a different thread.]

[Sorana fan]

Originally Posted by *Sparkle*

Why would it need to be someone's fault? I was merely pointing out why I struggle to get excited about it from a nationalistic point of view, and that the format only really works for countries with a bit of depth to their talent pools, so that is one aspect to be taken into consideration when working out how to get more people to take it seriously, or if you are going to mess with how ranking points are allocated.


[Nevertheless, I would say there are organisations within the UK that could do better, but that's a different debate for a different thread.]

What I meant is that according to you the actual format is wrong because british people dont get excited ¿?¿?

Ok, lets change the format of the football worldcup too because US football team is rubbish and americans dont get excited...

The format is OK, and big stars like Nadal, Berdych, Roddick took it seriously and won the title.
If UK is mostly insignificant when it comes to tennis or if Federer hasnt won it before (even when he's got a good teammate, Stan) its not a format's fault.

[Sorana fan]

Originally Posted by Sorana fan

What I meant is that according to you the actual format is wrong because british people dont get excited ¿?¿?

Ok, lets change the format of the football worldcup too because US football team is rubbish and americans dont get excited...

The format is OK, and big stars like Nadal, Berdych, Roddick took it seriously and won the title.
If UK is mostly insignificant when it comes to tennis or if Federer hasnt won it before (even when he's got a good teammate, Stan) its not a format's fault.

Forgot to mention Djoko as a DC winner

[*Sparkle*]

Originally Posted by Sorana fan

What I meant is that according to you the actual format is wrong because british people dont get excited ¿?¿?

Except I didn't say that.

It was someone else who started the thread, and someone else who pointed out that it's a much bigger deal in some countries than others. Me explaining why I personally struggle to get excited about it from a flag-flying British point of view isn't moaning, it isn't saying the format needs changing. It's no more nor less than being realistic that the minor tinkering suggested won't suddenly make it relevant for countries like the UK. The point is that until Britain gets a better #2 player, we're not suited to the top tier of the Davis Cup, and why there's little point in our top player getting involved in all draws.

I didn't at any point say the Davis Cup needs to change to somehow make it easier for countries with one good player, and loads of rubbish ones to win. To be clear, I don't think it should (or could).

However, I would go back to the point made by several posters and myself that prestige within countries is only one half of the debate. The other part is that it may hamper a player's performance on the main tour if they are caught up in some tough five-setters, or pick up an injury etc. That's why it's good to think about scheduling and whether or not a best of five format is worth it.

The only notable thing to happen in a British Davis Cup tie lately was Murray's triple bagel of some poor bloke from Luxemourg. That's fun for fans of unusual statistics, but it's hard to feel any nationalistic pride because of it.

[BevelDevil]

Originally Posted by chalkflewup

1. Make it a 2 week event hosted at multiple locations within one country (a la March Madness).

Would people in, Dallas, Texas, come out to see Kazakhstan vs. Austria? And would the crowd be fired up?

If there were only one host country for the whole event, the only way to get high attendance would be to put it all at one venue and give people a choice of what to watch. The downside, as mentioned before, is it would turn into a regular tournament.

What makes DC so fun are the rabidly nationalistic home crowds. That's going to be lost if there's only one host nation.

[August]

I don't think having DC in one place over a few weeks would work. Why people come to watch DC is to cheer for their country. If you have an Argentina-Czech Rep. tie played in e.g. USA, you can say there aren't many Argentines or Czechs in the crowd, and the crowd isn't very big at all. Big crowd doesn't care if none of Big Four plays. In Argentina or Czech Rep. you'd have a full house.

Ryder Cup is played at one place over one weekend, and it works. That's because there are only two teams and it's always on either teams home soil. But DC World Group has 16 countries, and I dare to say big crowd in USA wouldn't care about e.g. Argentina-Czech Rep. DC final.

So, I'd only change some things in current format, or keep it as it is. Switch to best-of-three would make DC ties physically easier, and that'd suit also for TV channels. On the other hand, it would force DC to switch to Fed Cup schedule of only two days, think about saturday's program being only one doubles Bo3 match, even two singles Bo3 matches per day is little. And in FC, I don't like that doubles are the 5th rubber, I prefer DC schedule.

Besides, I don't think Bo5 is the biggest problem of DC. I think DC's big problems are travelling to whichever continent for one weekend and possibly having to adapt to a different surface than what you've just played on. Well, I wouldn't change the surface thing, I like it how teams select a surface that favours them, I'd allow also carpet. But anyway, I think it's reasonable to say that you may have to play one individual event less for a DC tie, Berdych is now an example on that. That's why I think it's right that they give ranking points from DC ties, those players may miss other tournaments because of DC. And I'd even go so far that I'd give prize money for rubber wins, that would be an incentive for less rich players. If you win two singles rubbers and the doubles rubber, I think that equals to at least a semi in a 250.

[spperry]

A lot of the top players dont play but it still has value.

Stepanek winning last years final rubber agsinst Almagro will probably be the biggest match he plays.

So while the Grand slam winners may not be playing it as much and saving themselves for these events for a lot of players the Davis Cup represents their chance to play in front of crowds and in matches they otherwise wouldnt get the chance to do.

[TennisCJC]

I think an international 2 week competition hosted at a new country each year would have merit. Like the World Cup format with divisional round robin play to see who gets to the semi/final single elimination round. Probably need to go to 3 match tie too with 2 singles and 1 doubles. 16 teams compete with maybe top 14 teams of this year's tourney getting a return invitation for next year and 2 slots held open for qualifiers to fill. Qualifiers would play before the final tourney to win 1 of the 2 open slots.

This would be fun - I would attend especially if it draws top players and it might due to condensed time frame. Period after USO and before WTF would be the most likely fit.

[Vrad]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

Davis Cup plays a rather vital role as an incubator of tennis talent, so eliminating it would have that ill effect.

Well changing it so the only players competing in it are the top existing talents would also have the same effect, wouldn't it?

[Vrad]

Originally Posted by BevelDevil

Would people in, Dallas, Texas, come out to see Kazakhstan vs. Austria? And would the crowd be fired up?

If there were only one host country for the whole event, the only way to get high attendance would be to put it all at one venue and give people a choice of what to watch. The downside, as mentioned before, is it would turn into a regular tournament.

What makes DC so fun are the rabidly nationalistic home crowds. That's going to be lost if there's only one host nation.

Well, don't host it in Dallas, TX then. But if you were hosting it in London, NYC, Vegas, LA, dubai, singapore, Sydney, etc. I am sure there would be a bunch of Austrians and Kazhaks who would come to watch, as well as a bunch of neutral observers.

That being said, I don't think the DC should switch to that format. They need to stick to the current format with some tinkering (like the 3 set idea) and better marketing to make it popular.

[*Sparkle*]

I think one of the best things about Davis Cup is that it allows there to be top level tennis in countries that might not normally have a big tournament of their own. The long travel times required of some legs does make it less attractive for players who would much rather focus on their next tournament, but I think the benefits of having the event in all of the different countries is worth the risk that top players might skip it.

I wouldn't see it as a problem to host the event over two days instead of three. In fact, I'd see it as making the event easier to market. If the hosts want to pad it out, they can open up practice sessions to members of the public.

If the issue is getting top players to play, they need to work on adjusting the timing, so players don't turn up tired to the DC tie, or turn up to their next tournament tired.

[UltimateBombero]

I just saw that US was hosting Serbia in BOISE,IDAHO??

I think it would be interesting to have the females in the mix, too for mixed doubles.

[August]

Originally Posted by TennisCJC

I think an international 2 week competition hosted at a new country each year would have merit. Like the World Cup format with divisional round robin play to see who gets to the semi/final single elimination round. Probably need to go to 3 match tie too with 2 singles and 1 doubles. 16 teams compete with maybe top 14 teams of this year's tourney getting a return invitation for next year and 2 slots held open for qualifiers to fill. Qualifiers would play before the final tourney to win 1 of the 2 open slots.

This would be fun - I would attend especially if it draws top players and it might due to condensed time frame. Period after USO and before WTF would be the most likely fit.

If you meant FIFA World Cup, you can't compare DC to it. One thing that makes FIFA World Cup so big compared to e.g. Davis Cup is football is a team sport. In football, it's about which team is best. In tennis, it's not about teams but about which player is best. Even if you had DC at a predetermined place, I could see more people travelling to slams than to Davis Cup, I think even WTF would have more spectators. So, I don't think a DC over two weeks is would be a good format.