Daniil Medvedev describes plan for five-city Davis Cup Finals as "very good," supports Abu Dhabi as main venue
Daniil Medvedev has backed plans for the 2022 Davis Cup Finals to have five host nations, with Abu Dhabi as the knockout stage venue. The World No. 2 also feels the event's position at the end of the season will continue to discourage some top players from participating.
International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty announced the changes that have been made to the Davis Cup Finals for the 2022 edition in a press conference on Sunday.
It was revealed that next year's event will feature 16 teams split into four groups of four teams, instead of 18 teams divided into six groups of three teams as seen this year. Each group will have a host city, while the knockout ties will all be held in a neutral fifth city expected to be Abu Dhabi.
After helping the Russian Tennis Federation win the 2021 Davis Cup, Medvedev expressed his support for the changes to the competition in a press conference.
“I think the idea itself is very good,” Medvedev said. “Of course, the calendar doesn’t let Davis Cup be in any other week, so that’s where it’s tough. That’s where some top players are not going to play because it’s the end of the season, somebody’s burned out, somebody’s injured, somebody wants to prepare well [for] Australia, so that’s not easy."
The 25-year-old further elaborated on the positives of the new format, while backing Abu Dhabi as a knockout stage host due to the quality of the stadium and facilities.
“In general, the idea of having four cities in Europe, trying to get of course best countries to play there in front of their home crowd and gather together in Abu Dhabi, where I heard it’s amazing stadium and amazing facilities, I like this idea," Medvedev continued. "Again, it’s going to be tough for any player, especially who is in the Masters (ATP Finals), to be able to cope up with the season.”
Daniil Medvedev leads Russian Tennis Federation to 2021 Davis Cup Finals victory
Daniil Medvedev helped Russia, competing as the Russian Tennis Federation, defeat Croatia on Sunday to win the 2021 Davis Cup Finals in Madrid. The World No. 2 won all five of his singles rubbers at the event without dropping a set, including a 7-6(7), 6-2 demolition of Croatia's Marin Cilic to clinch the title.
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World No. 5 Andrey Rublev defeated Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6(5) in the opening rubber of the final. It is Russia's third Davis Cup title and first since 2006.