"This format of the Davis Cup is the worst of all time"

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Since 2003, we have been waiting for the successor to Andy Roddick, an American to win another Grand Slam tournament, but so far, nothing. It is not due to a lack of players, but even the combination of all of them has not led to collective success, to winning a Davis Cup that they have not lifted since 2007. And why this long streak? Does it have an explanation? Does a team composed of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka, and Krajicek-Ram not have the elements to compete against anyone? Well, this time it seems not, defeated away by the Czech Republic. The consequence is that, for the first time since 2021, the United States will not be in the quarter-finals.

Clearly, this absence in Bolonia has direct culprits, although we are not going to punish poor Taylor Fritz after finding out that he pushed himself throughout the whole weekend to compete in his two individual matches. "My intention was to arrive at this event in the best physical condition, but unfortunately, that was not the case," he commented after defeating Mensik and losing to Lehecka. "I had to take two days off, I was sick, it hurt a lot. The reality is that I was not 100% prepared for any of these matches, so at least I am satisfied with winning the match on the first day. On the second day, it was impossible; I fought but could not, it was very tough. Deep down, I still thought that I was capable of defeating a player in shape, but my opponent played very well," emphasized the Californian.

The captain, Bob Bryan, also had concluding remarks, unable to find the right formula to lead this team to success. This time, losing a tie at home where they were favorites, although we cannot deny that on the other side there was an equally prepared team for victory. "We take our hat off to a team that has been better than us on both days. Our guys pushed hard in the doubles, making Jakub spend several hours under the heat, it was a very physical duel. In the end, it doesn't matter if it's singles or doubles, the point is that they spent a lot of time. I told Frances many times in the deciding point to cling on as best as he could to the second set, but Mensik did the right things when he most needed them," noted the former world number 1.

STEVE JOHNSON'S RANT

What he could never have expected was to hear a major rant like the one unleashed by Steve Johnson in the middle of the Nothing Major podcast, a show he shares with his compatriots John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Jack Sock, where they take the opportunity to discuss current events and reminisce about past battles. It was here that Johnson, a bit frustrated by that elimination, decided to arm himself and take aim at a Davis Cup format that still does not convince everyone but is much better designed than a couple of seasons ago.

"Ultimately, it all comes down to the fact that the current Davis Cup format is incredibly bad," exclaimed the former #21 of the rankings from almost a decade ago. "It's the worst format of all time, undoubtedly, it has lost all its value. It's a horrible thing, but this is what they have decided to do with the tournament. Having the final phase held in a neutral territory is outrageous, everything about it is brutal. Personally, I would have liked this tournament to be held every two years, frankly, because it's clear that this current format just doesn't work," he concluded.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “Este formato de Copa Davis es el peor de todos los tiempos”