“It’s a Disaster”: Legendary Davis Cup Captain Lashes Out at Gerard Pique

Ever since the inauguration of the new format to the Davis Cup in 2019, fans were divided over the Gerard Pique’s initiative to concise the previous long format into a short, crisp one that runs over a week.

When the tournament with the new format was held in 2019, the initial response from fans wasn’t satisfactory although it has to be mentioned that Spain’s matches garnered huge attention as the tournament was held in Madrid.

Not to forget the presence of Rafael Nadal amplified the attention surrounding the event alongside world no.1 Novak Djokovic. This year, the tournament decided to move across cities for the round-robin stages as well as for a few of the quarter-final matches.

There are also plans that Pique’s company Kosmos, who is behind Davis Cup, is planning to host the finals in Abu Dhabi next year and might even move across cities in the future.

MADRID, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 19: Players of Spain line up for national anthems during Day 2 of the 2019 Davis Cup at La Caja Magica on November 19, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

This move was received with a wide-spread criticism from former players as they feared that the tournament is gradually losing its flavor.

Former captain expresses displeasure with new Davis Cup changes

One of the players to have reacted to this change is Nikola Pilic, former Croatian tennis player and acted as the team captain when the country won its first ever Davis Cup back in 2005. The team had stalwarts such as Goran Ivanisevic, Ivan Ljubicic, and Ivo Karlovic.

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Pilic was bothered that the new format is not providing the necessary atmosphere that the tournament is known for.

“What this Barcelona footballer (Gerard Pique) and some other people next to him who bought a lot of money, it’s a disaster. I ask them, where is the atmosphere? The Davis Cup used to be a symbol for the right atmosphere, where is it today?”.

Nikola Pilic disagrees with Pique’s idea of moving finals to Abu Dhabi

The legendary Davis Cup captain also talked about moving the finals to Abu Dhabi.

“Watch out, they are now saying they will take the final to Abu Dhabi, so after three years they would go to America and do some show there that has nothing to do with the Davis Cup”.

Pilic continued, “The Davis Cup is playing for your country, it’s the emotions, the atmosphere, everything is buzzing, this is where the real players get the most out of themselves”.

Despite the fact that players always feel pride representing their respective nations at the Davis Cup, the chances of top players participating at the event has always been a big question, irrespective of the formats.

While the changes made to the event are commendable, Pilic and others feel that the traditional value of Davis Cup is being lost as it’s slowly turning out into an exhibition event.

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