Novak Djokovic blames ITF to defend Gerard Pique over the failure of Davis Cup led by the Spanish soccer player’s Kosmos Group

ITF comes under criticism for low attendance during group stage matches

Novak Djokovic blames ITF to defend Gerard Pique over the failure of Davis Cup led by the Spanish soccer player’s Kosmos Group

Gerard Pique and Novak Djokovic (Credit: Getty Images)

FC Barcelona legend and Spanish football star Gerard Pique‘s company Kosmos signed a deal with ITF in 2019 to organize the Davis Cup. The ITF announced a 25-year plan in a $3 billion partnership with the investment group Kosmos. The federation claimed that the deal will help generate substantial revenue for global tennis development. The event, to be staged by Kosmos in partnership with the ITF, would feature 18 teams and be played over one week in a world-class location.

The deal didn’t work out as expected. In January, this year, the ITF announced the end of the 25-year agreement with Kosmos. A source close to the matter said that the parties failed to reach a new financial agreement. Kosmos took the dispute with the ITF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, citing the “unjustified termination” of its contract. The group also claimed 50 million $ in damages from the ITF.

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The tournament has come under criticism recently from the 3-time Grand Slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka due to the low attendance. The Swiss player called out Pique for the mismanagement. However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has spoken out in defense of the football star.

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“I do not support the criticism of Piqué because it is not his fault. The ITF is the one that allowed the change of format and the one that makes the final decision. He came with his company and bet on tennis. If you have to criticise someone, it is the ITF. The format had to be changed, what happens is that we have gone from one extreme to the other. We haven’t played in Serbia at home for a long time,” Novak Djokovic said in a press conference.

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Stanislas Wawrinka calls out Gerard Pique for Low attendance in his Davis Cup match

Stan Wawrinka Gerard Pique Novak Djokovic
Stanislas Wawrinka (Credits : Getty Images)

The 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stages have begun. The AO arena in Manchester played host to the Group B encounter between France and Switzerland. The 3-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t amused with the low attendance in the stadium for the encounter. Wawrinka took to ‘X’ to call out the founder of Kosmos Gerard Pique over the low attendance.

The Swiss pro shared a post on ‘X’ captioned, “Thank you @3gerardpique @ITFTennis???‍♂️! @DavisCup France vs Switzerland in Manchester lol.” Gerard Pique was quick to reply to the post. The football star shared stats of last year’s attendance and said, “Last year attendance in the group stage. You can compare it for yourself @stanwawrinka. We don’t organize it anymore. Ask the @ITFTennis.”

Pique claimed that the ITF wasn’t flexible with the financial negotiations following the outbreak of COVID-19.

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