Roger Federer and Sascha Zverev decided to tour in Argentina instead of playing the new Davis Cup. Roger’s tour and the team competition happened in the same week, and there was a huge discrepancy in the attendance and the overall vibe. The new Davis Cup attracted a lot of criticism for its format. Some top players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray decided to give it a try, and they were right to say that it was fair to come to conclusions only the 1st edition ended. However, the first one doesn’t seem that great so far.
The empty seats of the Davis Cup
Unfortunately, as feared by many, we witnessed many empty seats during this Davis Cup for many reasons. For example, not many people are eager to attend an event during the week, and the event scheduling was somewhat bizarre. On Wednesday (actually, it became Thursday) Team USA won completely useless doubles at 4 am against Italy with virtually no one in there.
Many tennis fans were more than eager to blast at Gerard Pique, showing empty seats. Of course, there was a full house when Spain was playing, but still, something was missing in the other ties.
A tennis fan commented: “I thought this was the #FIFA football (that’s soccer for you Americans) game between South Korea & North Korea, which the latter hosted, but no one was allowed to see.”
But no, it’s tennis. 3 matches at once. If you want a crowd to watch your country, hope you play a tie vs Spain.
This is pathetic #PiqueCup not #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/V1wPBUK9JO
— violet💜 (@VioletLovegame) November 18, 2019
Davis Cup opening ceremony on an hour and a half before the first matches start here in Madrid, it’s all quite bizarre and a lot of empty seats. Am weirdly enjoying it, though. pic.twitter.com/m4QjKlunne
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) November 18, 2019
Chris Clarey pulling an all-nighter with the Italian & U.S. Davis Cup teams in Madrid. Deciding doubles rubber just started at 1:30 in the morning. Fognini d. Opelka, Fritz d. Berrettini to make it 1-1. On Fox Sports 2 in the States. https://t.co/SAoKrP0sru
— Steve Tignor (@SteveTignor) November 21, 2019
The huge crowd for Federer
On the other side of the world, it’s fascinating to compare the huge crowd and the enthusiasm that Roger Federer (with the help of Sascha Zverev) has achieved in his first 2 outings in Santiago and Buenos Aires. These are 2 completely different events, but it’s hard to believe the difference.
20.11.2019 que día inolvidable!!!! No voy a parar!!!!! https://t.co/WWapa5uxnM
— rossanita cañete.- (@rossicav) November 21, 2019
"Zverev derrota a Roger Federer en Buenos Aires 🎾" https://t.co/vW7AzAUwOZ
— Ricardo Esteban Rovira Flores (@restebanrf1993) November 21, 2019
Hoy, antes de partir al Parque Roca, @rogerfederer salió a las puertas del Hotel Hilton a firmar autógrafos y saludar a los fans #FedererEnArgentina pic.twitter.com/ZN6FlIlmiB
— Respiro Tenis (@Respiro_Tenis) November 21, 2019
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 16th of November when he had to surrender to Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London.
This year Federer has a 51-10 win-loss record. Federer clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami, in Halle and in Basel. Federer was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.
