Spanish Davis Cup official papers over cracks for upcoming edition

A ranking Spanish Davis Cup official is painting the brightest possible scenario for the new-look Davis Cup, which has struggled for two years to gain acceptance.

Former player Francisco Clavet, 53, serves as assistant TD behind another former Spanish standout, David Ferrer, a replacement for Spain’s former boss Albert Costa.

The event – run by Iberian management with a guarantee of a few billions into the accounts of the International Tennis Federation over the next quarter-century – has fought an uphill battle for acceptance with its radical rewrite of the classic Davis Cup concept.

Long gone is the home-and-away format which brought excitement to the four-times-per-year competition.

Instead, playoffs are set for September with the finals – in Spain, where else? – in Malaga November 21-27.

Clavet revealed to Spanish media that hopes of staging a final in Abu Dhabi have fallen through, with the old reliable fallback position of Spain, raking up the organisational slack.,

Clavet, whose best ATP ranking was a modest 115, controversially labelled the classic Davis Cup format as dead.

“Davis Cup is the most different competition that exists, but its old format was obsolete, both for the fans, who couldn’t go to many qualifiers, and for the player,” he said.

“This new format is open, beautiful and dynamic for all. The players themselves support this new format,” which he spun as “comfortable and agile within a very tight schedule,”