Anyone who still thinks of full halls and goosebumps at the Davis Cup is probably reminiscing about old times. Because today it is not uncommon to find almost the exact opposite, as the three-time Grand Slam champion once again discovers to his horror – and also captures this on video.
The Swiss posted a short video on X (formerly Twitter) that he recorded during the Davis Cup group duel between Switzerland and France in Manchester. However, there are not many viewers in this excerpt.
Wawrinka blames one man in particular for this, former soccer star Gerard Piqué. He wrote about the video: “Thank you Gerard Piqué and ITF Tennis!” – and added an angry emoji.
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Background: The ex-Barca star is president of the investment group “Kosmos”, which has been a co-organizer of the Davis Cup for several years and has made a decisive contribution to the Davis Cup reform. The ITF, the world tennis affiliation responsible for this, which Wawrinka also blames, stood behind these innovations despite opposition from the tennis scene.
Former professional Fish is also angry: “They killed the Davis Cup”
The classic home and away duels, which contributed a lot to the fascination of the Davis Cup, no longer exist in this format, at least in the later phase of the competition. This time the knockout phase with the best eight teams will take place in November in Malaga, Spain.
Other professionals such as former player Mardy Fish, who currently serves as captain of the US Davis Cup team, also agree with Wawrinka. “They killed the Davis Cup,” wrote the American.
When Stuart Fraser reminded Wawrinka’s post that ITF President David Haggerty had even talked about creating a World Cup atmosphere with the new format, Wawrinka reacted again.
The 38-year-old angrily asked: “‘World Cup atmosphere’ – why is he still deciding the future of the Davis Cup after making it so bad?”
Tennis controversy over Davis Cup: Piqué reacts to Wawrinka video
Piqué also noticed the anger in the tennis scene and replied to Wawrinka under his post with a screenshot with viewer numbers and wrote: “The viewer numbers in the group phase last year. You can compare it yourself, Stan Wawrinka. We don’t organize it anymore. You should ask the ITF.”
Wawrinka countered: “After a bad day on the court (Wawrinka lost his match, editor’s note) that at least made me laugh! It would be great to understand why the 25-year deal was stopped after just five years if it was such a huge success.”
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The ITF announced at the beginning of the year that it would separate from Kosmos early and take full control of the Davis Cup again. Piqué’s investment group Kosmos then announced a compensation claim of up to 45 million euros.
2023-09-13 05:34:00
#Big #trouble #Gerard #Piqué
