Many officials had called for a return to the home and away matches in the run-up to the final tournament.
Michael Kohlmann seems to be coming to terms with the format of the Davis Cup bit by bit. After years of criticism, the German national tennis coach struck a conciliatory tone on the sidelines of the final tournament in Malaga. Above all, the 50-year-old welcomed the adjustment of the competitions in the run-up to the final round.
“I think that this format with home and away games is what we have to adjust to. And that’s fine. If we play at home in February or September, then that’s certainly a positive change,” said Kohlmann. This season, Germany had to qualify for the final round in a group of four. The matches against Slovakia, Chile and the USA took place in September in front of a very small and unenthusiastic crowd in China.
This heavily criticized group stage, which followed the qualifying round in the spring and was previously played as a single duel between two teams, will no longer take place in the future. The ITF is also returning to the “home/away game mode” in response to pressure from players and officials. “We always wanted to maintain the balance between the tradition of the Davis Cup and the innovations from the finals,” said ITF President David Haggerty on Sunday in Malaga.
Unsurprisingly, those in charge were satisfied with the final tournament in the Andalusian coastal city – but Kohlmann also has little criticism of the way the winner of the traditional competition is chosen. “I think that when the final tournament takes place near the ATP Finals, it is always well attended. The fans have shown that there is interest and it has always been relatively exciting from a sporting point of view.”
Indeed, both world number one Jannik Sinner and Spain’s top star Carlos Alcaraz did not miss the event a few days after the ATP Finals in Turin ended. However, the world number two, Alexander Zverev, decided against taking part after an extremely long season, much to the disappointment of the German team. Due to the tightly scheduled ATP calendar, there are always cancellations during the Davis Cup season.
Michael Kohlmann seems to be coming to terms with the format of the Davis Cup bit by bit. After years of criticism, the German national tennis coach struck a conciliatory tone on the sidelines of the final tournament in Malaga. Above all, the 50-year-old welcomed the adjustment of the competitions in the run-up to the final round.
“I believe that this format with the home and away games is what we have to adapt to. And that’s fine. If we play at home in February or in September, then it’s definitely a positive change,” said Kohlmann. This season, Germany had to qualify for the final round in a group of four. The matches against Slovakia, Chile and the USA took place in September in front of a very small and unenthusiastic crowd in China.
This heavily criticized group stage, which followed the qualifying round in the spring and was previously played as a single duel between two teams, will no longer take place in the future. The ITF is also returning to the “home/away game mode” in response to pressure from players and officials. “We always wanted to maintain the balance between the tradition of the Davis Cup and the innovations from the finals,” said ITF President David Haggerty on Sunday in Malaga.
Unsurprisingly, those in charge were satisfied with the final tournament in the Andalusian coastal city – but Kohlmann also has little criticism of the way the winner of the traditional competition is chosen. “I think that when the final tournament takes place near the ATP Finals, it is always well attended. The fans have shown that there is interest and it has always been relatively exciting from a sporting point of view.”
Indeed, both world number one Jannik Sinner and Spain’s top star Carlos Alcaraz did not miss the event a few days after the ATP Finals in Turin ended. However, the world number two, Alexander Zverev, decided against taking part after an extremely long season, much to the disappointment of the German team. Due to the tightly scheduled ATP calendar, there are frequent cancellations during the Davis Cup season.