The Davis Cup has split opinion in recent years due to its various format changes.
Since 2019, the Davis Cup has been completely overhauled and has seen players including Alexander Zverev refuse to represent their countries.
Seemingly as a result of the backlash the event has made changes to revert back to the original format, something that the Davis Cup has been credited for.
Despite this, two former American Davis Cup semifinalists have continued their criticism of the event.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesSteve Johnson and Jack Sock heavily criticise the Davis Cup after latest action
The Davis Cup has seen its latest action take place over the weekend, with seven big qualifier ties across the globe from Florida to Sydney.
These ties have produced much of the classic drama for which the competition is known, including 32-time champions USA crashing out of the Davis Cup after being beaten by Czechia.
However, former world number 21 Steve Johnson is still not satisfied with the format and has slammed the Davis Cup on the Nothing Major podcast.
“Ultimately it all boils down to the Davis Cup format being absolutely, incredibly bad,” said Johnson. “It is the worst format of all time. It has just lost its juice. It’s horrible. I think the Davis Cup format is horrible and this is what Davis Cup gets.
“The neutral site final is just brutal, it’s all brutal. I would have liked to have just done it every other year, quite frankly. This format just does not work.”
Former Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey then gave his views on the event, “Speaking of the format they played two singles matches on Friday, on Saturday they played the doubles and we won, I then turned the TV off and then four hours later I was looking on the ATP app and it was saying Tiafoe in the fifth rubber. I was like what is going on? They are playing today on Saturday? I don’t even know the format of what days they are playing.”
Former top 10 player Jack Sock added, “I thought it was the 2-1-2, I figured we were playing Sunday and did the same. Got on social media and saw that we had lost to Czechia. I am not a fan of it at all.”
When are the Davis Cup Finals taking place?
Johnson, Querrey and Sock’s main issue with the current Davis Cup appears to be with the format meaning that every match from the quarterfinals onwards is all in the same location.
This year will see the Davis Cup Finals take place in Bologna, with Italy as the two-time defending champions.
Despite the omission of USA, there is still a very strong lineup for the Davis Cup Finals ‘Final 8’, including six former champions.
Teams in the Davis Cup Finals ‘Final 8’Best Result at the Davis CupItalyChampions (1976, 2023 & 2024)GermanyChampions (1988, 1989 & 1993)SpainChampions (2000, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2019)FranceChampions (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2017)CzechiaChampions (1980, 2012 & 2013)ArgentinaChampions (2016)BelgiumRunners-up (1904, 2015 & 2017)AustriaSemifinals (1990)
Jannik Sinner and Italy will be looking to hold off the competition as they bid to become the first nation to win three consecutive Davis Cup titles in 53 years.
There is also the possibility of an appearance from Carlos Alcaraz, who has a big decision to make in the coming months.
The Davis Cup Finals in Bologna will take place between November, 18-23.