'Rafael Nadal will try to convince players to play Davis Cup' - Costa
In an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 2002 French Open winner Albert Costa spoke about the new Davis Cup format. Rafael Nadal committed to play the team competition event in November next year and Costa, who is the new Davis Cup Tournament Director, said: 'He loves the new format and he is from our side, but not only for the a friendship that connects us. He is very professional and during the season he will help us trying to make players understand that the change is good.'
Costa did not deny that the ATP Cup and Davis Cup may get combined: 'It's a work in progress, we are discussing with ATP, Grand Slams and ITF to try to solve problems, starting from the date. Trust us, you will love Davis Cup.'
Asked what convinced him to join the project, Costa replied: 'Everything, starting from the new format. Now everyone complain, but it has been for a while that players, who were considering this competition as dead, were asking for a change. Now we have accepted their request. This format makes them committed just for two weeks instead of four like before. They will come to the end of the season fresher and some of them could play only the finals stage. There will be 18 Nations together, in the same city for an entire week. The interest will be higher because fans, investors, TVS will focus on the final tournament. The tie between France and Croatia, for example, only attracted the direct interested people and a few other fans.'
ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2RTBikR
No comments