{"id":39995,"date":"2015-03-07T20:50:57","date_gmt":"2015-03-07T20:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=39995"},"modified":"2015-03-08T02:13:59","modified_gmt":"2015-03-08T02:13:59","slug":"swiss-stars-are-absent-at-davis-cup-and-so-is-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=39995","title":{"rendered":"Swiss Stars Are Absent at Davis Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/06\/sports\/tennis\/davis-cup-champion-is-missing-its-stars.html?emc=edit_ae_20150305&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;nlid=20046452\">New York Times,<\/a> 2015.03.05 Swiss Stars Are Absent at Davis Cup, and So Is Change<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"187\" data-para-count=\"187\">The Davis Cup is still officially in Switzerland\u2019s possession with another campaign set to begin on Friday, but the Swiss have already given up any real chance of defending their title.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"462\" data-para-count=\"275\">There were confetti and celebration in Lausanne and elsewhere in November after <a class=\"meta-per\" title=\"More articles about Roger Federer.\" href=\"http:\/\/topics.nytimes.com\/top\/reference\/timestopics\/people\/f\/roger_federer\/index.html?inline=nyt-per\">Roger Federer<\/a> and Stan Wawrinka finally <a title=\"New York Times article on the Davis Cup final.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/11\/24\/sports\/tennis\/with-davis-cup-roger-federer-checks-off-one-more-achievement-but-isnt-ready-to-stop.html\">brought the trophy home<\/a>. A promotional tour is still planned in the hope that more Swiss \u2014 particularly young Swiss \u2014 will be bitten by the tennis bug.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"582\" data-para-count=\"120\">But further festivities could fall flat if the team, as expected, is beaten in the first round in Belgium this weekend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"978\" data-para-count=\"396\">Neither Federer nor Wawrinka agreed to defend the prize that took them many years to win. That leaves their friend, adviser and captain, Severin L\u00fcthi, with a Swiss lineup whose top player is No. 321 Adrien Bossel now that No. 292 Yann Marti has reportedly left the team in a huff after not being picked for Friday\u2019s singles. The only holdover from the winning team is No. 576 Michael Lammer.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"marginalia collection-marginalia collection collection-type-column collection-tone-feature collection-section-sports collection-theme-latest-headlines nocontent robots-nocontent\">\n<div class=\"nocontent robots-nocontent\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"collection-meta\">\n<div class=\"follow-button-placeholder\" data-collection-id=\"column.on-tennis\">That is quite an abrupt downgrade in star power, and it is the latest reminder that despite the record crowds at last year\u2019s final in Lille, France, the Davis Cup is still in need of renovation. Major changes would be justified, but minor changes are probably all that the venerable competition can manage in the next few years.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"1730\" data-para-count=\"422\">Transition at the top is coming \u2014 the longtime International Tennis Federation president, Francesco Ricci Bitti, has decided not to run for re-election this year. But turning the event into a true monthlong World Cup of tennis seems to involve too much risk and calendar juggling. Holding the event every two years might endanger short-term revenue that is vital to the smaller tennis nations that are part of the I.T.F.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"1963\" data-para-count=\"233\">Another smart proposal \u2014 requiring home teams to pick surfaces that are in use on the regular tour during that time of the season as a way to reduce injuries \u2014 could founder because of the dearth of clay courts in some countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"2240\" data-para-count=\"277\">Even the modest and reasonable idea of giving the previous year\u2019s finalists a first-round bye has failed to gain traction, partly because of resistance from sponsors and broadcasters and partly because I.T.F. officials are not convinced it would improve player participation.<\/p>\n<div id=\"Moses\" class=\"ad moses-ad nocontent robots-nocontent hidden\"><a class=\"visually-hidden skip-to-text-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/06\/sports\/tennis\/davis-cup-champion-is-missing-its-stars.html?emc=edit_ae_20150305&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;nlid=20046452#story-continues-2\">Continue reading the main story<\/a><\/div>\n<p id=\"story-continues-2\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"2388\" data-para-count=\"148\">It would, however, help players stay fresh, and it would also help prevent the buzz kill of seeing the reigning champion quickly fumbling its crown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"2680\" data-para-count=\"292\">For now, with Davis Cup dates set through 2018, the idea of holding the final at a neutral site determined well in advance \u2014 \u00e0 la soccer\u2019s Champions League final or the Super Bowl \u2014 is gaining momentum, with the goal of improving the event\u2019s organizational and promotional potential.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-3\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"3041\" data-para-count=\"361\">\u201cWe are disappointed that Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have decided not to play in the first round of Davis Cup, especially for the thousands of fans in Switzerland and around the world who supported their progress to the title last year,\u201d Ricci Bitti said. \u201cDavis Cup is not a mandatory event, and players do choose from time to time to miss a tie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-4\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"3151\" data-para-count=\"110\">They certainly do, but what sort of message does it send when the titleholders have no interest in repeating?<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"3486\" data-para-count=\"335\">Federer fought the clock and a significant back problem to make it on court and help beat the French in last year\u2019s final. Now, less than four months later, he would rather save himself the hassle and the energy at age 33. He will instead play a lucrative exhibition match against Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"3748\" data-para-count=\"262\">\u201cI always feel there is so much guilt put on you from the federation or from the I.T.F., more so than anybody else,\u201d Federer said of the Davis Cup last week on his way to the title in Dubai. \u201cSo I\u2019m happy I was able to finally tick that off and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"3976\" data-para-count=\"228\">Federer made it clear that he played the Davis Cup from start to finish last season more to address his teammates\u2019 wishes than his own. He also made it clear that it had been more of a burden than a pleasure through the years.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-5\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"4209\" data-para-count=\"233\">\u201cThose are powerful quotes,\u201d Jim Courier, the United States Davis Cup captain, said in a telephone interview from Glasgow, where his team has a first-round rematch with Andy Murray and Britain after losing last year in San Diego.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-6\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"4626\" data-para-count=\"417\">Courier, who won the Davis Cup twice as a player, would prefer big changes in an attempt to broaden the event\u2019s reach, but he appreciates the event too much to write it off in the face of stasis. Still, there is a notable disparity in excitement between the Davis Cup and the Ryder Cup, the golf team event contested by the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup was played at Gleneagles near Glasgow in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"5081\" data-para-count=\"455\">\u201cWe just did a press conference with the local press, and there\u2019s not one American member of the press here, and we didn\u2019t expect there to be,\u201d Courier said Wednesday. \u201cThe golf community and general sports community knows in America when Ryder Cup is coming because it\u2019s focused on. There are tennis fans that know we are playing here, and no one else knows. That\u2019s not our fault, necessarily. We\u2019re not responsible for promoting this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"5262\" data-para-count=\"181\">The top players, who united for increased prize money at Grand Slam tournaments, could have done the same to force change on the Davis Cup. They do not seem interested in doing so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"5559\" data-para-count=\"297\">More matchups between the game\u2019s biggest stars in this age of great rivalries could have made the Davis Cup more impactful globally. Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Murray have too seldom faced each other in Cup matches, a combination of bad luck of the draw and flickering commitment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"5921\" data-para-count=\"362\">This year, Federer is out (perhaps for good), but the fifth-ranked Murray and the top-ranked Djokovic, who is set to lead Serbia against Croatia in the first round, are back in the mix. So are No. 4 Kei Nishikori of Japan and No. 6 Milos Raonic of Canada, whose teams will face off in Vancouver in what could be the most compelling of the first-round encounters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"6411\" data-para-count=\"490\">No matchup has a longer back story than the United States versus Britain, however. The two countries played the first Davis Cup tie, in 1900 in Boston, after the Harvard student Dwight Davis had the bright idea of starting an international tennis challenge. The Americans won, 3-0, benefiting from the absence of Britain\u2019s best players: the brothers Reginald and Laurence Doherty. The Americans also made good use of twist serves, which left the Britons lunging and searching for answers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"6729\" data-para-count=\"318\">There should be no such secret weapon this time. The top players know one another well in this globalized era, although the Belgians could certainly be excused for lacking information on Bossel and the other Swiss players filling in for Federer and Wawrinka. At least they no longer have to worry about scouting Marti.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-total-count=\"6765\" data-para-count=\"36\">What a difference three months make.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Times, 2015.03.05 Swiss Stars Are Absent at Davis Cup, and So Is Change The Davis Cup is still officially in Switzerland\u2019s possession with another campaign set to begin on Friday, but the Swiss have already given up any real chance of defending their title. There were confetti and celebration in Lausanne and elsewhere [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tennis-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}