The CEO of Kosmos Tennis says they are committed to promoting the reach of the Davis Cup competition beyond Europe.
This year’s finals are taking place in the Spanish city of Malaga and the finale has been held in Europe ever since Kosmos’ 25-year investment into the competition received the green light three years ago. Organizers say it is important for the event to be held close to the ATP Finals which are currently being staged in Turin, Italy.
As for those covering the Davis Cup, there was a notable absence of American journalists in attendance despite the country being one of the eight teams to participate in the week-long event. The USA lost 2-1 to Italy in the quarter-finals. Overall, three separate continents are being represented in the finals – Europe (five teams), North America (two teams) and Oceania (one team).
“We have in our plans to do different things with that,” Rojas told Ubitennis CEO Ubaldo Scanagatta when asked about the attendance of journalists from outside of Europe. “We also want to have big ambassadors for the Davis Cup across the world. For them to speak about us and get the journalists used to the format. This is in our plans.”
The format of the competition sees 16 countries who have reached the finals group stage play one of four round-robin events. Each event has four teams and the top two of each group progressing to the knockout stages which takes place in November. However, there are some exceptions. Canada lost to the Netherlands earlier this year but advanced to the group stages as a ‘lucky loser’ following the removal of Russia from the competition.
Each tie features three matches but in two ties played this week in Malaga only two matches were played because if a team wins both of their singles matches, the doubles are irrelevant. Nevertheless, Rojas believes the current structure is the most effective for men’s tennis.
“It’s difficult. It’s going to be difficult but I think this format works and it is going to stay as it is now,” he said.
“I can not be happier than I am. We are really happy about how everything is going – the players, teams, partners…everybody is extremely happy. I can only be proud of the job that has been done.” Rojas added.
In another development for the competition, the possibility of ranking points being awarded in the future is still unlikely. Speaking during a press conference on Sunday morning, the president of the International Tennis Federation, David Haggerty, confirmed that a discussion can be held at any time if needed. This comes after KOSMOS, ITF and the ATP formed a strategic alliance for the first time in history.
“With our existing agreement with the ATP, there is the possibility of ranking points. So yes, that is there. That’s in discussion.” Haggerty told reporters in Spain.
“What we have seen is that really in the past, when you play for your nation, you’re not looking for the ranking points. It really doesn’t matter to many of the players whether they have points or not. But it is, with our relationship with the ATP, we can have that conversation at any time, but I think jointly we believe that it’s not necessary.”
