Albert Costa hopes Rafael Nadal can convince fellow pros to play in Davis Cup finals

Shahida Jacobs
December 12, 2018

Tournament director Albert Costa is backing Rafael Nadal to convince his fellow professionals to compete in the revamped Davis Cup finals.

Nadal has already committed to the 2019 tournament, which will be held in Madrid, but the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have indicated that they will skip the event.

Costa, though, is confident his fellow Spaniard can pull a few strings next year to get the top players to sign up.

“Yes, he loves the new format and is on our side, but not only because of our friendship,” he told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport

“He is a very professional and during the season he will give us a hand and will try to convince his fellow professionals to understand how positive the change is.

He added: “It’s a work in progress, we are dealing with ATP, Grand Slams and ITF to try to solve problems, starting from the date. Trust me, this Davis Cup will win you over.”

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has received a lot of criticism for overhauling the Davis Cup, but Costa insists they had to make changes, and it is actually good for the players.

“Everyone is complaining now, but for a long time the players who are complaining now and considered this competition dead were asking for a change,” he said.

“This new formula commits them for only two weeks against the four before. They will arrive at the end of the season a bit fresher and some of them might play only a week at the finals.”