Federer, Team8, and Zverev against the Davis Cup and ITF. GERMAN DAVIS CUP CAPTAIN

German Team captain Michael Kohlmann has criticized Zverev’s decision to play in exhibition matches instead of the Davis Cup in Madrid.

Federer and Zverev

The finals of the Davis Cup will take place in Madrid from November 18th-24th. Players will get a chance to represent their countries at the cup which is one of the oldest team competitions in the game. Two top players will, however, be absent from the event. Roger Federer will miss out after Switzerland failed to qualify. German player Alexander Zverev has chosen to skip the finals. He will instead play in exhibition matches against the Swiss. German team captain Michael Kohlmann is unhappy about the player’s decision.

Zverev vs. the Davis Cup

Kohlmann revealed he did not expect Zverev to play in Madrid. He said, “Alexander Zverev never played a role in our plans for Madrid because he ruled out from the beginning to compete there.”

The German Captain suggested that Federer had influenced the world number 6 to skip the tournament. He accused the Swiss player and his management group Team 8 of being against the Davis Cup. “I was a bit surprised he chose to play the exhibition event and it is a direct result of joining Team 8. Godsick and Federer, of course, make a clear statement with this tour against the new Davis Cup final week and against the ITF.”

Federer vs. the Davis Cup

Federer has never liked too much playing the Davis Cup. Even when he won the competition back in 2014 he said that it was “for the boys,” hinting that he wasn’t “that interested in it.”

This year’s Davis Cup has featured a new format. The tournament will have 18 teams. 12 teams earned qualification after playing earlier in the year. The four semi-finalists from last year’s tournament will also play at the event in addition to two wildcard teams. There has been speculation that 20-time Grand Slam winner is not happy with the new format of the event. This has put his qualification for the Tokyo Olympics in doubt. Players who qualify should have played in the Davis Cup since the last Olympics. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has the option to apply for an exemption if he does not play in the cup next year.

Federer, Zverev’s tour in Latin America

Federer and Zverev played for Team Europe at the Laver Cup in September helping the team win the cup for the third year in a row. The two will play exhibition matches the week of the Davis Cup. They will play in Bogota, Colombia for their first exhibition. After the match they will play again on 23rd November in Mexico City. The two players have appeared in videos on social media to promote the matches to fans.

Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019

Roger Federer Stats info

Ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 3rd of September when he surrendered to Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 in the quarter in U.S. Open.

This year Federer has a 43-7 win-loss record. Federer clinched 3 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami and in Halle. Roger was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.

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Roger Federer and Sascha Zverev

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