ITF president claims to have backing of Djokovic and Nadal over new Davis Cup format

Despite some backlash over the new format of the annual Davis Cup tournament, ITF president David Haggerty insists this new arrangement has the support of top players like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev.

The new Davis Cup Finals held its inaugural edition in 2019 but was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. This version features players competing in a best-of-three sets format, with the Russian Tennis Federation prevailing in the year's edition.

“The players we have spoken to enjoyed the experience of the new Finals and have said they look forward to future editions,” Haggerty said in an interview with ABC News.

“As you have heard recent comments from Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Marin Cilic and Daniil Medvedev have shown that our vision for the competition is shared by the leading players”.

Furthermore, Haggerty seemed to second a notion proposed by Djokovic, which would include adding more cities to host the competition.

"That’s one of the main ingredients,” added Haggerty. “We’ll be leaving behind a legacy in all four cities that have the group stage as well as the preferred city that will have the Finals. There are many outstanding reasons that we believe this preferred host is where we will go. In due course, we’ll make an announcement.”