“By far the worst atmosphere I have experienced in Davis Cup” Andy Murray criticises the new Davis Cup format
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Andy Murray
Talisman and architect of Great Britain’s team that won the 2015 Davis Cup, Andy Murray is not particularly a fan of the new Davis Cup format that was introduced in 2019 since Kosmos Group, co-founded by Spanish national and Barcelona Football Club‘s player Gerard Pique, took over the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ and introduced new changes that did not go well within the tennis fraternity.
The new modifications see the tournament taking place in only 1 location with the matches being played in the best-of-3 format instead of the traditional home-away concept that was played in the best-of-5 format. While this new system will definitely generate more revenue, many veterans and players have expressed their disappointment in making the tournament commercial and taking away the spirit of it.
“I am concerned about the Davis Cup. I experienced the Davis Cup final in Spain, which is a country that loves tennis. I played Davis Cup there a few years ago, we played against the Dutch and we played against Kazakhstan and it was by far the worst atmosphere I have experienced in Davis Cup. I think that was the thing that made Davis Cup great for the players and everything and it was good for the sport.
“That doesn’t mean that you couldn’t accommodate him and have very good crowds, I’m not saying that the stands will necessarily be empty. But it’s just not the same when you don’t have that partisan crowd. So yes, I’m a little worried about the Davis Cup and for me, it’s not the fact that it takes place in Abu Dhabi that matters. It was a problem when it was in Spain too,” said Murray in his recent interview with Eurosport.
“I’m just sceptical of how many tennis fans come out” says Andy Murray
With the covid regulations also in place, venues for the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, it also led to matches being played behind closed doors further saw lesser fans going for the tournament.
“I’m just sceptical of how many tennis fans come out. If Spain played Russia in the final here, would there be enough Spanish fans and Russian fans travelling to come here? I think that’s what worries me,” added Murray further.
With the new format also proposing to take the Finals of the tournament to be played in Abu Dhabi for the next 5 years also not going well with the fans, time will only tell how the organising committee takes the note of reactions of the fans and players.
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Sarthak Shitole
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