Interview with Günter Bresnik - "Mr. Davis rotates in the grave"
Günter Bresnik is a traditionalist. This quickly becomes clear in the tennisnet interview with Austria's former Davis Cup captain.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 21, 2021, 08:40 am
tennisnet : Mr. Bresnik. When you think of the Davis Cup - which game do you associate with the best memories.
Bresnik : 1999 in Pörtschach. Stefan Koubek fought Magnus Gustafsson down in five sets. He prepared it in such a way that Hipfl had a really easy game with it two days later. That was a Davis Cup game, as you would have liked.
tennisnet : The new format has now been available in the form of a final tournament since 2019. That does not meet with approval everywhere.
Bresnik : I don't understand why you destroy a really attractive competition. I like it that Alexander Zverev criticizes it publicly. This is currently no longer made so easy for athletes, because you have to expect a shit storm in the dumb social media. Zverev's opinion is legitimate. You will hardly find anyone in the locker room who would not say: This is no longer a Davis Cup. It may be a nice tennis event, but it has nothing to do with the Davis Cup.
tennisne t: What is it that particularly bothers you?
Bresnik : Instead of the home or away game with the whole theater, which made it unique, you are now organizing an event that is almost like a normal tournament. If the premiere hadn't been in Madrid and the Spaniards had won there, it would have gone completely wrong. The promises regarding the money, which are not kept: also madness. For me it all died out after two years. Call this whatever you like, but Mr. Davis will be rotating in the grave.
Günter Bresnik - "I have a lot of confidence in Dennis Novak"
tennisnet : Does that mean that the traditional Davis Cup is forever dead?
Bresnik : There is always a way back! When you admit mistakes and understand. The people who are doing it now cannot. And that has nothing to do with the fact that the man who is always put forward is a footballer. That is the responsibility of the ITF. They shouldn't have let the Davis Cup be taken out of their hands. Just because there were problems in the original form of the Davis Cup doesn't mean I have to destroy the whole competition.
tennisnet : The ITF apparently finds the model so good that exactly the same thing has been introduced for women.
Bresnik : It's the same problem with the women: Bencic is playing against Kerber in Prague, 35 people are watching. When the two play in Geneva or Frankfurt, the halls there are full. And it's not about the money, but about the value of sport. Of course, people want to earn more. But if I currently weaken a product, even if I get a lot of money for it, I cut myself into my own flesh in the long run.
tennisnet: Austria meets Serbia and Germany in Innsbruck. In the absence of Dominic Thiem. What do you think number one, Dennis Novak, can do?
Bresnik : A lot. For me, Dennis is a player who should never be written off. He plays well in the Davis Cup at home and away. And Dennis lost relatively smoothly against Jannik Sinner in the town hall, but actually had more breakballs in the match. If he's physically fit, you can always count on Dennis in the Davis Cup. And that is what he will be in Innsbruck.