The biggest names in tennis coming to Manchester in the UK for the Davis Cup unearths a problem which was also evident during last year's Finals with group stage matches sparsely attended at the AO Arena on Tuesday.
Canada face off against Argentina with Denis Shapovalov seeing off Francisco Cerundolo and Felix Auger-Aliassime currently facing Sebastian Baez. As well as Canada and Argentina, Great Britain as expected play during the group stages of the Finals.
But even that paints an unfortunate picture with tickets in the nosebleeds of the arena on Friday for Great Britain's tie against Argentina being as cheap as £10 on the ticketing market.
It is a tie that could be a big one too for those attending with Jack Draper likely to play on his return after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open. He has elected to head straight into action for his country.
This unlike other players who were involved in the latter stages of the US Open. Only Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic big name wise have elected to play with others either having the week off ahead of the Laver Cup or until the Asian hard court swing.
But images of the Shapovalov and Cerundolo match showed less than 100 people in the stands. This though could be for a myriad of reasons. In the UK, cost of living is an issue with people less likely to spend the money. Also it falls in the wrong week with schools returning and others likely being in work. £10 tickets can help alleviate that issue slightly but it is an issue that is confounded most year and asks whether change is needed.
We say this every year, but this doesn't even feel like Davis Cup at this point. The Qualifiers are more fun to watch because they have home/away atmospheres.
Neutral ties in the group stage remain a so far unsolvable problem for Davis Cup. A sparse crowd again in Manchester for Canada’s Denis Shapovalov v Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina
