Ahead of the German team’s first match in the Davis Cup group finals against France, team captain Michael Kohlmann has criticised the transformation of the competition.
“I was always a friend of the Davis Cup in its old form. I was not a big fan of the reform,” said the 48-year-old in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel” before the match in Hamburg (14.00).
In the past four years, there have been several changes to the mode in various steps. Instead of several rounds spread over the year, there was, among other things, the introduction of a final round and later an additional intermediate round in four cities. “But as it is now, we are moving in the right direction again,” he added. The idea of home, away matches and a group stage has made the most important competition for national teams more attractive again, he said.
He said it was always clear to the former player that he wanted to work in tennis as a coach. “Because I also made a few mistakes as a youngster and wanted to pass that on to others so that the same thing doesn’t happen to them,” said Kohlmann, who has acted as team manager of the German Davis Cup team since 2015. “Of course, you also wish for a great position like Davis Cup captain, but you can’t really imagine it. That was and is always something very special for me and I see it as a great honour. “