ITF

Australian Davis Cup hero Rod Laver is open-minded about the revamped competition as the inaugural Madrid Finals draw ever nearer. By Barry Flatman AS BEFITTING SOMEBODY WHO IS UNIVERSALLY REVERED AS A TRUE LEGEND OF HIS SPORT, ROD LAVER CAN BE PERMITTED TO CHANGE HIS MIND. Anyone can jump to immediate conclusions on a matter of some importance and then feel the desire to amend those original feelings after some serious consideration. The usual result is a far more pragmatic observation. Immediately after the ITF's acceptance last year of a reported $3bn offer from the European investment group Kosmos to reform and rebrand the Davis Cup, Laver initially adhered to the fiercely critical views expressed in some quarters. Laver cares deeply about the 119-year-old competition. After all, the only living man to have amassed two complete Grand Slams has also been part of a Davis Cup- winning line-up on five separate occasions; the first and the last being 14 years apart. Now given the best part of 12 months to study the evidence and come to his own conclusions, Laver has decided the best policy is to allow the new format to have a chance and see how things transpire come mid- November when 18 nations convene at Madrid's Caja Magica. "Let's be honest, as much as some people were loath to admit, the whole Davis Cup was not exactly healthy in its old format," said Laver as he relaxed on an All England Club balcony on finals weekend at Wimbledon. "Something certainly needed to be done because, for a variety of reasons, most of the top players were not sufficiently committed to appear on a regular basis. "So now I've concluded that we at least need to give this new format a chance and see how it works out. The Davis Cup was always a competition that was very dear to my heart right from the time I was chosen as an orange boy for the Australian team at the age of 19. "I am hoping that the Davis Cup, in this new format, really flies and provides proof the competition is not dead. Sadly, it has been dying for the last 10 years." Laver was disappointed but not hugely surprised when presented with the following facts. Since Switzerland won the nation's first Davis Cup title in Lille five years ago, Rod Laver, right, with John Newcombe and Neale Fraser following Australia's victory over USA in 1973 ➝ Laver presented Rafael Nadal with the US Open trophy in September ITFWorld // AUTUMN 2019 13

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