The category of the best tennis players is measured, basically, by their performances in the tournaments of Grand Slam and so, with Novak Djokovic matching the line of Rafael Nadal among the top champions after his conquest in Australia, that run did not end. But very close in the consideration of that category was -until recently- the epic that contributed the Davis cupwith all its historical and emotional charge.
“Dwight Davis was absolutely brilliant in realizing that the most individualistic of sports could enter another dimension. And in my case, Davis gave me more pleasure than anything else,” he once said. John Patrick McEnroe. The “Supermac” of the early 80s was one of the best tennis players of his time and, furthermore, a “cupbearer” player par excellence, leading his country, even from his youthful days, to the conquest of the Davis.
That story could have collapsed -we don’t know if totally- five years ago, when the International Tennis Federation accepted the proposal of Gerard Piqué and your company Kosmos to transform the centuries-old competition into something else entirely. In addition to some regulatory changes to the game, they also changed the Davis Cup system, essentially reducing it to a one-week, one-venue competition. It’s a story that started with doubts and ends badly: He is headed for trial in the THAT (Court of Arbitration for Sport). There, Kosmos has just filed his lawsuit against the FIT, after it announced two weeks ago that the Cup would not continue with the new format as of next year (they will study what they will do with Davis in the future).
“Davis was mutilated, I don’t think tennis players want to play it like in my time. And I am not surprised by this break between Kosmos and the Federation, since the new format did not work for anyone, “said McEnroe – now a commentator – from Australia.
Created by Dwight Davis at the beginning of the last century as a match between the teams of the United States and Great Britain, it was originally called the “International Lawn Tennis Challenge Trophy”. Little by little, other countries joined until they constituted a virtual world championship, one of the most prestigious team events in the sport. And so the Cup offered moments that constitute legends in tennis for the fervor of players and audiences, and also for its technical quality.
From the French “musketeers” to the glorious Australian dynasty, built under the leadership of Coach Harry Hopman, the first flashes of Spain as a power (1960s, Manolo Santana’s time) to the usual power of the US, the greatest champion with its 32 titles. And of course, all that it meant to him held Argentinawho obsessively pursued his conquest until the final coronation in 2016, in Zagreb: the feat of the team led by Daniel Orsanic and led by an imperial Juan Martín Del Potro It constitutes one of the milestones of Argentine sport of all time.
The most relevant change that the Davis Cup had had was implemented in 1981 when the World Group was established with 16 teams, but it was only an organizational matter. It is true that in recent decades, it was difficult for the “super elite” to combine their individual calendar –focused on the big tournaments and the search for points- with the needs of their national teams. But generally the hierarchy of the Cup was maintained. Until Piqué arrived with his proposal and convinced the International Federation. Moreover, they achieved more than 70% of the votes of the national federations during the August 2018 ITF assembly in Orlando and closed that story.
From traditional tennis, the reviews, but they were not enough to avoid that agreement. “Is a shamethey ruined 120 years of tradition. These people are sick in the head. They never picked up a racket and hit a tennis ball. They should be sentenced to life,” he said. Ion Tiriac, for example. “I bet what they want that in two years they will change the format again. This is a joke and also a shame. They have ruined the jewel of tennis ”she expressed during an interview with The New York Times.
Kosmos promised to get the FIT 3,000 million dollars for 25 years, a figure that at this point and after three editions has proven completely impossible. As it was also impossible to maintain the “fee” of 40 million dollars annually. the irish leader David Milesopposed to the current leadership of the FIT headed by the American David Haggerty, told the newspaper La Nación on a visit to Buenos Aires: “The change in format of the competition does not represent tennis. Everyone knew that Davis needed a change, but there was another way to generate the same money. respecting the traditions. It would have been better to wait a while to vote for a change and discuss in depth with the federations. There was no honesty or transparency.”
The format change had also not received the support of major federations (Germany, Australia, Great Britain) and among the critics was a former Wimbledon champion like Lleyton Hewitt: “Now we are led by a Spanish footballer. This is as if I were going out to ask for changes for the Champions League. It’s ridiculous, Piqué doesn’t know anything about tennis”.
“I don’t agree at all with the format and the structure to reach the final. I think having the final in one city is ridiculous. Personally I don’t think all the top players will play. We’ll have to wait and see ”, he added.
Nevertheless, Rafael Nadal was among the props for Piqué and the project went ahead. The first edition under the new format was played in Madrid’s Caja Mágica and there were stars like Nadal himself, Djokovic y Andy Murray to prop it up. The pandemic it stopped in 2020 and Madrid continued as the venue the following year. But already in the last edition, held at the Palacio de los Deportes in Malaga, only two top 10 came, the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and the American Taylor Fritz.
Due to the pandemic, the FIT accepted renegotiate the “fee” of the last seasons, which was reduced to 10.2 million in 2020 and almost doubled in the following season. 32 million were paid last year and 36 million were pledged for this one. But Kosmos wanted a global renegotiation of the entire contract.
He had not met his sponsorship expectations. He had the support of Rakuten -the Japanese e-commerce company, Piqué’s own partner in Cosmos- and some other sponsors, but on a insufficient for the funds that Davis demanded. According to the Spanish media, Piqué expected a “shocking investment” from arabic backgrounds -as he managed for the Spanish soccer Super Cup- and he even thought of taking the final phase to Dubai, but that Plan B did not work, the Arabs never came to his rescue.
On January 12, while Piqué was already involved in all the media paraphernalia of his divorce with Shakirathe success of this with its Session #53 and the parade on social networks with its King’s League football 7, learned of the FIT statement, which put end to the adventure of the Davis Cup.
Immediately the resources of Kosmos and the FIT arrived before the TAS. For the former soccer player’s company, the lawsuit is for “unjustified contract termination”, while the FIT demands 25 million euros for “non-compliance”, although that figure would reach 60 million due to other accumulated debts. Kosmos also claims compensation for “the damages” that this rupture produces.
The 2023 Davis Cup is already underway and there will be no changes in its implementation. “The Federation has ensured that financial contingencies are covered and as custodians of the competition we will organize the 2023 qualifiers and finals as planned. The final phase with eight teams will be held in Malaga, in November”, indicated the FIT statement. But the future is unknown. complete.
