Gerard Pique remains confident that he can convince the Big Three to compete in the newly formatted Davis Cup, with Rafael Nadals involvement a near certainty .
The Barcelona defenders company Kosmos was the driving force behind the competitions controversial revamp – scrapping the traditional year-long home-and-away tie knockout setup in favour of a World Cup style event in a neutral venue.
Madrid will host 18 nations at the inaugural finals in 2019, with the dates confirmed as 18-24 November.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer had expressed their frustration at the placement of the new event in an already stacked calendar, when quizzed on their participation in Shanghai last week.
Federer said: No, I highly doubt it [Ill play], of course. Well see what happens. I dont think this was designed for me, anyhow. This was designed for the future generation of players.
Djokovic, who met with Pique in Shanghai, confessed that he would prioritise the ATPs own new team competition – which is set to launch in Australia just five weeks later – over the Davis Cup.
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Im not 100 per cent sure at the moment, Djokovic said. We, as the ATP, also have our own competition that we are going to, as it looks like, organise and launch, which is going to be only five weeks after the Davis Cup.
I just feel like the date of the Davis Cup is really bad, especially for the top players. Between the two, I will prioritise the World Team Cup because thats a competition of the ATP, but we still have to obviously discuss within my team personally.
I think and I hope that there will be a larger discussion between the players to understand how we are going to approach these two competitions or hopefully we can make it to the point where we can have one big super World Cup, if you want to call it, because thats the best thing for our sport. But the way it seems right now, we are going to have two at the moment.
Pique confirmed that talks with the ATP are ongoing over the possibility of combining forces, but remains confident that tennis biggest stars will be involved either way.
I have spoken with all those players, he said.
With Rafa it is very positive. If he does not have an injury, he will be there. Rafa is very positive about this event, especially because it is taking place in Madrid. If the number one in the world is playing, thats more than enough.
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On Novak, if he has to choose between the two, he says he will play the ATP tournament. I took the opportunity to talk to him because he represents the players and the meeting was very positive. I am confident we can reach an agreement.
Federer is at a point in his career in which he prioritises the most important tournaments. I have talked with his people and I have not closed any doors.
Spain have already confirmed their spot in the finals, but Serbia and Switzerland still have to win a qualifier in February in order to reach the season-ending event.
More: Tennis
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Gerard Pique remains confident that he can convince the Big Three to compete in the newly formatted Davis Cup, with Rafael Nadals involvement a near certainty .
The Barcelona defenders company Kosmos was the driving force behind the competitions controversial revamp – scrapping the traditional year-long home-and-away tie knockout setup in favour of a World Cup style event in a neutral venue.
Madrid will host 18 nations at the inaugural finals in 2019, with the dates confirmed as 18-24 November.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer had expressed their frustration at the placement of the new event in an already stacked calendar, when quizzed on their participation in Shanghai last week.
Federer said: No, I highly doubt it [Ill play], of course. Well see what happens. I dont think this was designed for me, anyhow. This was designed for the future generation of players.
Djokovic, who met with Pique in Shanghai, confessed that he would prioritise the ATPs own new team competition – which is set to launch in Australia just five weeks later – over the Davis Cup.
Advertisement Advertisement
Im not 100 per cent sure at the moment, Djokovic said. We, as the ATP, also have our own competition that we are going to, as it looks like, organise and launch, which is going to be only five weeks after the Davis Cup.
I just feel like the date of the Davis Cup is really bad, especially for the top players. Between the two, I will prioritise the World Team Cup because thats a competition of the ATP, but we still have to obviously discuss within my team personally.
I think and I hope that there will be a larger discussion between the players to understand how we are going to approach these two competitions or hopefully we can make it to the point where we can have one big super World Cup, if you want to call it, because thats the best thing for our sport. But the way it seems right now, we are going to have two at the moment.
Pique confirmed that talks with the ATP are ongoing over the possibility of combining forces, but remains confident that tennis biggest stars will be involved either way.
I have spoken with all those players, he said.
With Rafa it is very positive. If he does not have an injury, he will be there. Rafa is very positive about this event, especially because it is taking place in Madrid. If the number one in the world is playing, thats more than enough.
Advertisement Advertisement
On Novak, if he has to choose between the two, he says he will play the ATP tournament. I took the opportunity to talk to him because he represents the players and the meeting was very positive. I am confident we can reach an agreement.
Federer is at a point in his career in which he prioritises the most important tournaments. I have talked with his people and I have not closed any doors.
Spain have already confirmed their spot in the finals, but Serbia and Switzerland still have to win a qualifier in February in order to reach the season-ending event.
More: Tennis
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