"Canada shouldn't have even been in the final" - Todd Woodbridge on Canadians being granted second chance in David Cup
Former tennis player Todd Woodbridge has expressed his disappointment with Canada's title triumph at the Davis Cup, stating that the team did not deserve a second chance in the tournament.
Canada was initially knocked out of the team event in the qualifying round, losing 4-0 to the Netherlands earlier this year. They were later granted a wildcard entry as Team Russia was withdrawn due to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
In a recent conversation with Wide World of Sports Radio, Todd Woodbridge opined that the decision to gift Canada the spot vacated by Russia was unfair and that the North American nation did not deserve a place in the final against his home country.
"I'm going to sound like a sore loser, but I don't really care. Canada shouldn't have even been in the final . They lost in April," the Australian stated.
The former doubles No. 1 stated that Canada now has a "serious asterisk against their name," which is "unfortunate."
"They were given a second-chance wildcard to play in this event. You do not win the Davis Cup on a second chance. You have to try again next year. But they have a serious asterisk against their name, which is unfortunate," he asserted.
Woodbridge also believes that changing the rules mid-year has resulted in diminishing the Davis Cup's value.
"I probably assume that the ITF would have liked Australia to win the competition. If you're going to change rules mid-year, it doesn't hold the same values as it did once before," he added.
"Well done, you did it the right way, you fell just a little bit short" - Todd Woodbridge on Australia's Davis Cup run
Todd Woodbridge lavished praise on Australia's players for their performances in the Davis Cup final, adding that the rules needed to be clarified for next year.
"Well done, you did it the right way, you fell just a little bit short. But to the rest of them: I hope they all go back in a boardroom and work out the rules properly for next year," Woodbridge stated
Australia cruised to the final of the tournament, beating the Netherlands (2-0) and Croatia (2-1) in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. In the final, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex de Minaur suffered defeats in their respective singles matches as Canada eased past the Aussies to clinch their maiden Davis Cup title.