"The title remains the same": Taylor Fritz opens up about new Davis Cup format

America’s Taylor Fritz has opened up about the new format of the Davis Cup. The team-based competition, which is one of the oldest in the history of men’s tennis, has adopted a new format in the recent past.

Previously, the tournament was organised on a home-and-away basis, where teams travelled to another country to play them in their backyard. That format has been changed recently, as the final phase of the competition is now being played at one venue in Malaga, Spain. The change of format has seen some criticism from current and former players who claimed that the new format has taken away the charm of the Davis Cup, where a team was challenged to play in conditions which were alien to them.

World number four Fritz, who recently became the first American player to play in the final of the US Open in 18 years, has been recently quoted in a report where he talked about the new tournament format. The 27-year-old, who recently finished the ATP Finals as a runner-up as well after losing to the world number one Jannik Sinner in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4, was of the opinion that the new format is a good one as all players come together at venue.

“I never really minded the format,” he said. “I think it’s cool that we all come together here at the end of the year and just kind of play it all at once. Teams still have the home-and-away ties earlier to qualify to get here. But yeah, I have never really minded it, I think it’s an efficient way to do it. For me, whatever is going to almost, in a way, shorten the season, I’m always kind of in favor of if there is a way to do that. I think the format doesn’t really have anything to do too much with the people playing. At the end of the day, this is still Davis Cup. The title remains the same.”