Lleyton Hewitt's Davis Cup rant: 'It's ridiculous, they're killing this competition'
The Australia boss has reacted to rumors that the Davis Cup will be held in Abu Dhabi for the next five years.
By the editor Reading time: 2 minsLleyton Hewitt, coach of the Australian Davis Cup team, criticized the new format of the competition, which now takes place in a single country and over a two-week period. The former world number 1 also reacted to rumors revealed by the Telegraph, according to which the competition should be relocated to Abu Dhabi for the next five years.
“I think it's ridiculous. That's not the goal of the Davis Cup. I've been saying this for three or four years now. Even tonight (in Turin), we have a marvelous stadium, but the crowd is really not huge… That's not the goal of the Davis Cup. Some of my best (career) memories came from the Davis Cup, with semi-finals and finals in front of packed houses, and it didn't matter if it was in Australia (at home, therefore) or if it was in Hawaii (away against USA). But the atmosphere was amazing. Sometimes the away games were almost as special because you had to find a way to be able to come together as a team,” Hewitt said in remarks reported by RMC Sport.
“I tell these stories to young people, and I am disappointed for them, they would like to know this situation. The Davis Cup has in the past been held in very high esteem because it was the pinnacle of our sport, with its five-set matches. The Grand Slam tournaments and the Davis Cup, it was these matches in five sets. But we threw that out the window, and now we're also throwing the house out the window. Playing a qualifier here or there, best of three sets, is not the same as having back and forth main draw matches throughout the year. So if they're now selling the soul of the Davis Cup to the Middle East for another five years, I think that's ridiculous, and they're killing the competition. »
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