Tennis opens up bidding for hosts of Davis, Fed Cup finals

The International Tennis Federation is looking into ways to improve the quality of the Davis Cup, and its women’s counterpart the Fed Cup, with proposals for the latter including a final four event to be played in quick succession.

Another suggestion has been to increase the Fed Cup world group to 16 nations, bringing it in line with the men’s event.

The ITF has announced plans to review the best of five sets format which could see best of three sets played and ties staged over two days instead of three.

Other options under consideration include a tweak of formats to reduce the length of matches, and expanding the top-tier Fed Cup competition to feature 16 nations.

ITF president David Haggerty said: “This is part of our mission to make the appeal of tennis broad and wide”.

Djokovic, who helped lead host Serbia to its first Davis Cup championship in the 2010 final contested in his hometown of Belgrade, believes the current structure is broken and says change is not only beneficial, but essential to ensure player participation.

Andy Murray capped a flawless Davis Cup season defeating David Goffin to clinch Great Britain’s first Davis Cup in 79 years last November. The potential changes outlined today will help these unique worldwide team tennis competitions to grow and prosper. The introduction of a final four will allow us not only to deliver this vital format change but also to create an even more outstanding year-end conclusion to the competition.

‘I do love the home and away atmosphere that we get in the Davis Cup just now.

“A fundamental thing that I think is important to Davis Cup and Fed Cup is the home-and-away format, especially in the earlier rounds”, Haggerty told ITF World Magazine. These were incredibly proud moments for me and the team and we were really gratified at the number of Australian fans who travelled to see us compete for the title.

Murray admitted he was exhausted going into the three-day match and ended it with a thigh injury after playing three rubbers to try and reach the final for the second year running.

At present, the finals of the Davis and Fed Cups are held in a city selected by one of the finalists, based on the draw.

“One of my roles since retirement has been as a tournament director, so I know how hard it is to stage a big competition in only a few months”. The Davis Cup as well has been great in doing that. Fan attendance has risen to 700,000 spectators annually, with the 2014 Davis Cup Final in Lille attracting the largest ever attendance for a recognised tennis match of 27,448 spectators.

Murray picked up a thigh injury playing three rubbers in three days as Britain lost to Argentina in the Davis Cup semi-final last weekend. The final of the 2016 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas will be held on November 12 and 13 at Rhenus Sport stadium in Strasbourg.