Absent Zverev called out by Davis Cup boss: “He said he dreamed of winning it”

A Davis Cup legend has defended the event saying that “things evolve” and that players like Zverev “will have to get used to it” after stinging criticism of the tournament’s format.

Spanish top 10 star Fernando Verdasco, who is this year’s Davis Cup Tournament Director in Madrdid, has fiercely defended the format saying,

“Many people are used to the old tradition and that is why they do not approve of this new format. Zverev, for example, is one of those who has said that he dreamed of winning the Davis Cup for a lifetime … but things evolve, just as there was no Hawkeye before and now there is. We will all have to get used to it, there is no other choice.”

Verdasco was quizzed repeatedly by Eurosport.es in his role this year in helping organising a much maligned tournament. Verdasco responded saying, “the new format is positive, it’s what we’ve all been asking for for years.

“When I played the Davis Cup, all the players complained asking for this new format, we wanted a Davis Cup of ten days at the end of the season and not have to play four qualifiers spread throughout the year.

“Sometimes you went from playing the Australian Open, to playing indoors to Belarus and then to South America on clay. In three weeks you were playing on three different surfaces, the worst for a player. The factor of playing at home or playing outside was very good, in a stadium of 8,000 people you had the public with you or you had it against you, that made it special. But if we talk about the calendar, we all asked for this format …”

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