The new Davis Cup has just started among a lot of criticism. Many fans and players blasted at its “main organizer” Gerard Pique for changing a format that used to represent a huge tradition for tennis. While it seems to be horrific to condensate the Finals in one week, it has been acknowledged by top personalities such as Novak Djokovic that something had to be done because the tournament was struggling to attract top players. Some ties were particularly tough to deal with, like the one in February that used to come soon after the Australian Open. Asking top players to compete somewhere else in the world for the honor of their country was causing problems.
Therefore, the Davis Cup was acquired, and its format changed radically with a handful of teams playing soon after the ATP Finals. While some players refused to compete (eg. Federer and Zverev), some others gave it a shot (eg. Nadal and Djokovic).
The empty seats
Tennis traditionalists were ready to criticize the new format and that came soon after they saw the first images and videos showing quite a lot of empty seats.
#PiqueCup le prime entusiaste recensioni https://t.co/co0DkWbiTD
— Tennis News Room (@Tennisnewsroom) November 18, 2019
Some were ready to point at the empty seats of the open ceremony. However, probably it was the timing of this event that was not correct as not many people have to be expected to attend this kind of ceremony on a Monday afternoon.
Davis Cup opening ceremony on an hour and a half before the first matches start here in Madrid, itโs all quite bizarre and a lot of empty seats. Am weirdly enjoying it, though. pic.twitter.com/m4QjKlunne
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) November 18, 2019
Pique arguing on Twitter
Gerard had a “discussion” over twitter with former world no.39 Filip Dewulf about the empty seats and Alize Cornet attacked the Spaniard saying: “Dear Gerard, I can see that you’ve never been to a REAL Davis Cup ! And that’s not it”
Dear Gerard, I can see that you've never been to a REAL Davis Cup ! And that's not it
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) November 18, 2019
Are you sure there are just 15?? ๐๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/SouZ8FnBG7
— Gerard Piquรฉ (@3gerardpique) November 18, 2019
Some vibe was there…
Even if this was clearly a completely different Davis Cup than the previous one, we need to admit and there was some vibe on some courts. Probably more time is needed.
When your bro gets her number ๐จ๐ฆ๐ค๐ค@felixtennis @VasekPospisil #DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/6ukTiGVk2T
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 18, 2019
We have a battleeee!! โ๏ธโ๏ธ
๐ฎ๐น Berrettini forces a decider vs ๐จ๐ฆ Shapovalov. @federtennis @TennisCanada #DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/hB8zHJjqTR
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 18, 2019
Sealed with a ๐ค!
๐ง๐ช @DavisCupBelgium celebrates its 2-0 victory over ๐จ๐ด @fedecoltenis. #DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/tnogGYBWP3
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 18, 2019
Karen, Karen! ๐๐ป
๐ท๐บ @karenkhachanov | @tennisrussia #DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/88vlzwrQJR
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 18, 2019
3๏ธโฃ colours, 1๏ธโฃ passion. ๐โจ
๐จ๐ด @fedecoltenis is leaving its mark at the #DavisCupMadridFinals.#byRakuten pic.twitter.com/lwxQla5aKR
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 18, 2019