How is the new format of the Davis Cup? | Other Sports | sports

The final phase of the Davis Cup resumes its calendar after a year of absence due to the coronavirus pandemic and will run from November 25 to December 5 with the new format installed in 2019, that will have group stage, quarterfinal, semifinal and final.

Like two years ago 18 countries will participate in the tournament (made up of five tennis players each), which will be divided into six groups with three nations each. This first phase will be played for the first time in three different cities simultaneously: Madrid (Spain), Innsbruck (Austria) and Turin (Italy), which will host two groups each.

In this phase, the teams will have to face two qualifying rounds against the other two teams in their group and each series is made up of three matches: two singles and one doubles, all on the same day and always the best of three sets and with a tiebreaker. The winner of each tie will be adding points in the standings.

The six countries that finish first in your group will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals and the other two places are reserved for the two best seconds, taking into account the sets and games won.

Once in the quarterfinals, the teams will play direct elimination matches, with the same three-match format: two singles and one doubles. So also in the semifinals and the final.

Why was this new Davis Cup format born?

Given the consensus on the exhaustion of the previous format, the International Tennis Federation (FIT) approved in August 2018 a new model, promoted by footballer Gerard Piqué and the investment group Kosmos, of which he is a co-founder.

The goal was to create more appeal for elite tennis players, who had regularly given up representing their countries amid a tight schedule. Thus, the Davis Cup it went from concentrating its year-long competition to a week-long event.

The old format was based on direct elimination duels that were played in February, July, September and November, alternating visits and locations, and the best of five games. Now, the Davis Cup will have a single final phase in November with 18 teams: the 12 winners of a tie from 24 countries, who play home and away matches, the 4 semi-finalists from the previous year’s tournament and 2 invited countries.

What are the countries classified for this edition?

• Twelve winners of the 2020 qualifying round (Germany, Australia, Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, United States, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Sweden).
• The semifinalists of the last edition (2019): Spain, Canada, Great Britain, and Russia.
• Two invited countries: France and Serbia.

How are the Davis Cup groups divided?

Group A

• Spain: Roberto Bautista, Pablo Carreño, Carlos Alcaraz, Marcel Granollers, Feliciano López.
• Russia: Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev, Karen Khachanov, Evgeny Donskoy.
• Ecuador: Emilio Gómez, Roberto Quiroz, Diego Hidalgo, Gonzalo Escobar, Cayetano March.

B Group

• Canada: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Vasek Pospisil, Brayden Schnur, Peter Polansky.
• Kazakhstan: Alexander Bublik, Mikhail Kukushkin, Dmitry Popko, Aleksander Nedovyesov, Andrey Golubev.
• Sweden: Mikael Ymer, Elias Ymer, Jonathan Mridha, André Göransson.

Group C

• France: Ugo Humbert, Arthur Rinderknech, Richard Gasquet, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Nicolas Mahut.
• United Kingdom: Daniel Evans, Cameron Norrie, Joe Salisbury, Neal Skupski, Liam Broady.
• Czech Republic: Jiri Vesely, Tomas Machac, Zdanek Kolar, Jiri Lehecka, Lukas Rosol.

Group F

• Austria: Dennis Novak, Yuri Rodionov, Gerald Melzer, Olivier Marach, Peter Oswald.
• Serbia: Novak Djokovic, Filip Krajinovic, Dusan Lajovic, Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic.
• Germany: Jan-Lennard Struff, Dominik Koepfer, Peter Gojowczyk, Kevin Krawietz, Tim Puetz.

Group D

• Croatia: Marin Cilic, Borna Coric, Borna Gojo, Nikola Mektic, Mate Pavic.
• Australia: Alex de Miñaur, John Millman, Jordan Thompson, Alexei Popyrin, John Peers.
• Hungary: Marton Fucsovics, Attila Balazs, Zsombor Piros, Fabian Marozsan, Mate Valkusz.

Group E

• EE. UU .: John Isner, Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz, Rajeev Ram, Jack Sock.
• Italy: Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Sonego, Fabio Fognini, Lorenzo Musetti, Simone Bolelli.
• Colombia: Daniel Galán, Nico Mejía, Juan Sebastián Cabal, Robert Farah.

What are the venues of the parties?

The group stage of the Davis Cup final phase will be played on Friday, November 26 and Sunday, November 28 in three different cities, which will host the matches of two groups each.

• Madrid (Spain): The Madrid arena will be the stage where the action of groups A and B will take place, which will be played on Friday 26 and Sunday 28 November.
• Innsbruck (Austria): The OlimpiaWorld in Innsbruck will be the sports facility where the matches corresponding to groups C and F will be played
• Turin (Italy): The Pala Alpitour Arena, with a capacity for 18,500 spectators, will be the stage where groups D and E.

The quarterfinals will also be played in the three cities, from November 29 to December 2, but in this case Madrid will host two, Turin one and Innsbruck another. Hence, the semifinals (December 3 and 4) and the final (December 5) will be played only in Madrid.

How much money do the participants receive?

The teams will distribute $ 20 million in prizes. The winner will pocket about 3.5 million (2.4 for the players and the rest for his federation). Just for participating, each team will win $ 900,000. (D)