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Djokovic: World Team Cup Will Be Revolutionary


During his term as ATP Player Council president Novak Djokovic has advocated for more Grand Slam prize money and smarter scheduling.

The Wimbledon champion says reviving the World Team Cup is probably his proudest presidential achievement.

More: Djokovic Scores Ninth Straight Win In Toronto

The ATP announced plans to relaunch its World Team Cup competition in Australia in 2020. The World Team Cup was formerly staged in Dusseldorf, Germany for 35 years.

The new World Team Cup will feature 24 teams, $15 million in annual prize money plus ranking points.

The ATP's World Team Cup competition has the support of partner Tennis Australia, which opposes the International Tennis Federation's plan to host a year-end World Cup-style Davis Cup championship.  

"I think the World Team Cup is something that we are very proud of," Djokovic told the media in Toronto. "We worked very hard together with ATP management to make that happen. Obviously, it's still not 100 percent, but it's looking like that's going to happen. That competition will be revolutionary competition for our sport."

Djokovic, who was vocal about players deserving a bigger piece of the Grand Slam pie during a player meeting in January, said major prize money increases take time.



"You know, the prize money increases in Grand Slams across the board, you know, but there are things that just take time," Djokovic said. "Three years is not enough, you know, to change. And we had a lot of, so to say, minor changes in the weeks and certain tournaments changing their surfaces in order to survive economically.

"And, you know, you just have to take into consideration so many different interested sides in our sport. It's not just us that have, you know, all the right to make decisions. You know, we are part of the association that is 50 percent players and 50 percent tournaments. So, you know, you have to discuss and go to the board and vote, and so the process is quite long. But it has been much better in the last couple years than it was, you know, in the last 10, 15 years."

Though Djokovic's two-year term as president is set to expire at the end of this year, he was re-elected to the Player Council and could be appointed president again.

"I will still be in the council for the next three years," Djokovic said. "Whether I will be president or not, we will see about that in US Open in a few weeks.

"I think comparing to the earlier days of my moment in player council, the beginning of my career comparing to this last three years, I think there was just much more communication, proactivity from players, willingness to participate in conversations. And you can see that there is much more improvement in that particular matter."

Photo credit: Christopher Levy

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