Davis Cup, ATP Cup - but what about the Hopman Cup?
The Davis Cup ended the 2021 season , the ATP Cup will open the 2022 season. What nonsense - you had a perfect kick-off event for years. A comment.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 06, 2021, 03:37 pm
First of all: With all the (legitimate) theater about the "new" Davis Cup - no home or away games, stupid date - you have to say that the cast was strong in the second year in the piqué system. Novak Djokovic (ATP No. 1), Daniil Medvedev (ATP No. 2), Andrey Rublev (ATP No. 5) and Jannik Sinner (ATP No. 10) were at the start; the absence of the rest of the top ten was mainly due to the fact that their teams were not qualified (Greece with Tsitsipas, who is also injured, Norway with Casper Ruud, Poland with Hubert Hurkacz) and from injuries (Rafael Nadal, Matteo Berrettini). Only Alexander Zverev had no desire for the new system, as he explained several times, and therefore stayed away.
It was clear to everyone that the Davis Cup had to be reformed - the make-up of the teams in the old system had been rather weak in recent years. And four weekends a year (with preparation and follow-up) no longer attractive for top players. We also know that the new mode has its downsides.
What about Tennis United?
The biggest joke, however, is that the same tournament will take place in blue in just four weeks: the ATP Cup. It was hyped a lot when it was launched in 2020, but the points of criticism are just as clear: an opaque points system, weak second singles (when the number 500 has to run against the number 8, greetings to Michail Pervolarakis, Franco Roncadelli and Aleksandre Metreveli). In addition, the women were relegated to the side places at the tournament taking place in Brisbane at the same time.
In 2020 of all times the idea came up to combine the women's and men's tour, Tennis United was the keyword, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had stoked the corresponding euphoria. Nothing happened.
Hello, Hopman Cup?
A mixed team event would be just the thing to start the season, where everyone is in Australia anyway. And start the year in a somewhat relaxed manner.
Oh yes: There was a mixed team event - the good old Hopman Cup , which was removed in favor of the ATP Cup. But it had just experienced an enormous upswing in recent years, we remember the Federer / Williams mixed or the crazy match ball between Switzerland and Germany in the last edition .
Again and again ITF boss Dave Haggerty says that they are looking for a new date - but despite all the competition and confusion between ATP, WTA and ITF, one does not seem to find one.
In the end, the fans are the ones who suffer, and so is tennis itself. Or can you manage in simple terms to explain to a thoroughly interested tennis fan (who is not a freak) why an almost identical event will take place with the ATP Cup only four weeks after the Davis Cup?