Davis Cup 2021: Davis Cup evolves: Four groups of four teams and a first stage in four stadiums

Since Cosmos took over the Davis Cup, the tournament has not stopped developing. The final turn of the nail will occur in the 2022 edition when participation is reduced, from 18 to 16 teams, which will allow the formation of four groups, from four countries, with four eligible stadiums that will be from the countries immersed in the competition. The quarter-final, semi-final and final matches will be in the same place, with Abu Dhabi at the top of the list.

“We were able to prove in 2021 that the changes that were made were very positive because they solved the three most important problems of 2019: the schedules, the lack of fans in some games, and the fact that only seven games were played. Days after the match. The ATP Finals Professionals,” explains Brand Enrique Rojas, CEO of Cosmos.

“Here in Madrid, with capacity down 25 percent due to protocols, there were more than 5,000 people every day. There were 7000 days. Even in Kazakhstan and Sweden, on Saturday, 5,000 fans attended‘, continuous.

Regarding 2022, Rojas confirm that there will be four host cities for a “round robin” and “after that they will go to a neutral venue from the quarter-finals. Having another match per group means another day of competition so we’ll go from 11 to 12 days.”

The competition will start two days after the end of the Turn Masters Cup at two venues and the other two venues will take place on Wednesday when the competition begins. “There is a slight chance that it will be postponed one day, but the normal thing is for the tournament to start on Tuesday,” Rojas says.

In January, a process will open that will last between four and six weeks so that cities, countries, foundations, unions and private promoters have the option to bid to be one of the hosts of the group stage.

“After the success of this year, it is likely that there will be proposals again from Spain, Austria and Italy … but I am convinced that there will also be proposals from Germany or France,” says the Cosmos leader.

Cities at sea level

The remarkable novelty is that although this edition has looked for locations with altitude, this time it will run at sea level and inland as well: “If Italy and Austria repeat it, it may not be in Innsbruck and Terne.” Between the group stage and the final stage, there will be two days of margin for transfers.

Regarding the option to play the Finals in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, Rojas states that “We would be very irresponsible if we didn’t spend a year after the event talking to different cities and looking for different options. It is a fact that we are negotiating with them. Nothing has been signed or confirmed and we won’t be doing that this week. In the next few weeks, we’ll have to make a deal with someone“.

From Cosmos we continue to work to get the best response from the players and Alexander Zverev is also included, who quit for the second year to play the most competition for passes.

“In Madrid, in Innsbruck and in turn we spoke with the tennis players and the captain about our ideas for the future. The reaction was very positive. We will continue to talk with the players, who have found themselves very well in all three. On the courts without Spain, Djokovic played on Friday in front of 7,000 people. We also talk with Zverev, we also talk with Novak and Nadal. We want to explain how good the new look is. We hope to be able to make you understand that the World Tennis Championships is heading down that streak. I think we’ll make him play. He is a very important player and Germany is a very important market“.

David HagertyThe president of the International Tennis Federation was proud that “the idea when the Cosmos arrived was to turn the Davis Cup into a world tennis tournament and that’s what we’re achieving.”