Davis Cup: In the end, all the (available) stars delivered
Tomorrow, Sunday, Croatia and Russia will play for the Davis Cup title in 2021. Despite all the criticism of the format, it should be noted that the line-up could hardly have been better given the circumstances.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Dec 04, 2021, 08:29 pm
Yes, it can go that fast in the new Davis Cup final format introduced in 2019. No sooner has Novak Djokovic put Marin Cilic in place again than he has to fight for survival with Filip Krajinovic. In vain, as we now know. Or on Saturday: If you came to the Caja Magica a few minutes late, you probably saw the final phase of Dominik Koepfer's hopeless fight against Andrey Rublev. And that Daniil Medvedev would be done with Jan-Lennard Struff so quickly that the meaningless double could start three hours after the start of the game - that was not to be expected either.
But the fact that Djokovic and Medvedev, the two best players in the world, took part in the last tennis event of the year speaks for the event. Basically, with Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner , the two other top ten players who qualified for the final round (not likeCasper Ruud , Stefanos Tsitispas and Hubert Hurkacz ) and / or were not injured (like Rafael Nadal) also showed their colors and Matteo Berrettini ). Only Alexander Zverev was not in the mood for the reformed Davis Cup.
Zverev's rejection will have been heard at the ITF
In the coming year there should be the next change, only one reduction seems to be fixed from 18 to 16 final teams. As a possible venue, Abu Dhabi has wafted through the corridors in Madrid, Innsbruck and Turin over the past few days. The cancellation of the press conference scheduled for Sunday on the subject of "Davis Cup 2022" was canceled without a reason. Instead, ITF President David Haggerty will, together with tournament director Fernando Verdasco, draw the draw for the qualifying matches of the world group for the coming year.
Austria is in the pot, as has the German team since Saturday. For a direct qualification it would have required a final in Madrid, a wild card is not necessarily to be assumed. Zverev's loud renunciation will not have gone unnoticed by the men (and it really seems to be only men) of the ITF and the marketing company Kosmos.
Is there a new captain coming to Austria?
The German-speaking conclusion is different. In Austria one could only look forward to the smooth success of Jurij Rodionov against Dominik Koepfer, the other results were expected (like the defeats of Dennis Novak against Jan-Lennard Struff and at the beginning against Novak Djokovic), partly edifying (like the appearance of Gerald Melzer against Dusan Lajovic) and disappointing (like the double against Serbia). The answer to the question of whether Stefan Koubek can continue to be the Davis Cup captain is eagerly awaited. Or whether sports director Jürgen Melzer is already taking the reins in hand. Or someone else who has not yet been considered.
There is no need for clarification in this regard with the German team. The contract with Michael Kohlmann was extended for another year even before the matches in Innsbruck, the team expressly supported this step with its performance and, above all, its appearance. The team chemistry in black, red and gold is excellent, it would stay that way if exceptional player Zverev returned to the team.
Which will happen in a few weeks. The ATP Cup is coming up. Zverev will definitely start, Struff should be the second single player, in doubles there could be the reunification of Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies. Tim Pütz would probably not regret this, he has found a new partner he can trust in Michael Venus. With that he could prepare for the Australian Open parallel to the ATP Cup.
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