By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Andy Murray capped a perfect Davis Cup season defeating David Goffin to clinch Great Britain's first Davis Cup in 79 years last November.
Photo credit: Paul Zimmer/Davis Cup
Winning the iconic 231-pound Davis Cup is one of the toughest tasks in tennis.
Securing Davis Cup hosting rights may soon be a bit easier.
Watch: Davis Cup Final Set
The International Tennis Federation announced cities and national tennis federations can submit bids to host a combined Davis Cup and Fed Cup final four competition at a neutral site.
Currently, both Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals are hosted by one of the finalists. Croatia will host Argentina in the November 25-27th Davis Cup final.
The plan to host the Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals at a neutral site is part of a major restructuring of the international team competitions that could also include:
*Shortening Davis Cup matches to best-of-three sets, rather than the current best-of-five-set format.
*Condensing Davis Cup competitions to two days rather than the current three days.
*Expanding the Fed Cup World Group to 16 teams.
*Granting first-round byes to reigning Davis Cup and Fed Cup champions.
"This is an exciting moment in the storied histories of these two much loved competitions," ITF President David Haggerty said in a statement today. "We have enjoyed significant fan interest in both competitions over recent years and remain determined to further grow that passion and support globally. The potential changes outlined today will help these unique international team tennis competitions to grow and prosper.
“A key goal for the ITF and member nations is to introduce a 16-team World Group in Fed Cup by BNP Paribas to ensure more nations from around the world have the opportunity each year to become world champions. The introduction of a final four will allow us not only to deliver this vital format change but also to create an even more outstanding year-end conclusion to the competition."
Under the proposed plan, the ITF would retain the home-and-away ties through the early rounds then play the semifinals and finals at a neutral site reminiscent of World Cup, Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four, which are all contested at neutral sites.
The ITF announced it will begin accepting bids for Davis Cup and Fed Cup final four hosting rights in December with a decision on the bids planned in the summer of 2017.
If that plan is approved at the ITF Annual General Meeting in August of 2017, then the final four concept staged at a neutral site could begin in 2018.
Supporters of change assert the current format is antiquated, arduous and drains drama and diminishes interest by scattering the World Group first round, quarterfinals, and semifinals over 10 months.
Hosting the final four at one site could generate more interest, media coverage and revenue for the ITF, which could promote a Davis Cup final four as an attractive television package.
"I definitely stand for change of format of Davis Cup. I've been saying that openly in public for many years," world No. 1 Novak Djokovic said during Wimbledon. "I think we do need to create a radical change because if we continue having this kind of format, it's not going to be good for players."
Djokovic, who helped lead host Serbia to its first Davis Cup championship in the 2010 final contested in his hometown of Belgrade, believes the current structure is broken and says change is not only beneficial, but essential to ensure player participation.
"Obviously the Davis Cup format, as it is, doesn't work anymore," Djokovic said. "There are not many top players that are participating in Davis Cup for many previous years. We have seen a few of us managing to play for our countries. Throughout the whole year, it's a big challenge because of the schedule.
"You have four rounds in the best case scenario of the World Group. The best match in terms of schedule for top player is the first one. Every match after that you need to play after either a Grand Slam or after a season finale. We all love representing our country. We all love being part of this competition because it brings out the best in us. It's the only official team competition we have in sports."
Opponents of the proposed change say staging Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals at a neutral site would diminish the drama, national pride and pressure that comes with the current format. There is also the concern that national federations, which can profit from hosting Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties, will lose a source of revenue used to sponsor tennis programs if the final four is moved to a neutral site.
Tomas Berdych, who helped lead the Czech Republic to back-to-back Davis Cup championships defeating Spain on home soil in the 2012 final before successfully defending the Cup against a Djokovic-led Serbian squad in Belgrade, strongly opposes the proposal.
"I would definitely not be a fan of that. I experienced both finals, I mean, the one at home and I also experienced the one away," Berdych told the media at Wimbledon. "Of course it's all very different, all very different experience, I have to say. But I would definitely never change the experience that I had winning at home."
Pointing to the intense passion of playing a home Davis Cup tie as well as the incentive for players to compete in the Davis Cup season to earn a home-court advantage in the final, Berdych called the concept of a neutral site final four "a bit unfair."
"So with this fact, I think it's a bit unfair to the team that makes it all the way to the final," Berdych said. "I think that the will or the reason of the Davis Cup should be try to make it better for the players. But I don't see really what's this better for the players, you know. I think it's just a bit unfair."
ITF President Haggerty said both competitions would retain the home-and-away format for early rounds with only the final four staged at a neutral site.
"A fundamental thing that I think is important to Davis Cup and Fed Cup is the home-and-away format, especially in the earlier rounds," Haggerty told ITF World Magazine. "What would be very interesting to me is a final four concept. In the final week, generally in November, we would have the final four teams come together in a neutral location. We could have the semifinals in the first three days, a day of rest and then three days for the final."