Feliciano Lopez: “Criticism similar to Wawrinka’s is not positive for Davies”

The director of the Davis Cup Finals, Feliciano Lopez, confirmed that the “strong” criticism directed by Swiss tennis player Stanislas Warenka of the format of the competition “is not positive.” Because it does not reflect “one hundred percent the reality of competition.”

“A tweet at a given moment causes more harm than people imagine.” The former tennis player from Toledo said regarding the message that Wawrinka shared with Gerard Pique, The owner of the Cosmos company – which withdrew at the beginning of this year from organizing the event – in which he showed some attitudes with a small audience in the group stage duel between Switzerland and France in Manchester.

After the controversy over the number of fans in the qualifying match… Lopez confirmed, in a media meeting within the framework of the finals that will be held this week in Malaga, that the next day was full of the match in which Great Britain played on its soil. He added, “If the format was modified because the players complained that the other one was not working, now that it has been changed you cannot complain again.”

The manager asked for “time and stability” to establish this hybrid format that maintained the “competitive essence” of the old model, with a final stage “more adapted to modern tennis”; Although he is open to new proposals for the future, he confirmed that the tournament, organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and sponsored by Lexus, will maintain the same structure in 2024.

The José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, which is hosting the eight finals until November 26, recorded 85% of the box office for the opening match. Finland qualified for the semi-finals after defeating Canada by two victories to one, while it is expected that there will be a full house for both the confrontation between Serbia and Great Britain led by Novak Djokovic and in the semi-finals and final.

“I think having Djokovic here is a very good example because he can help pass on the excitement of the Davis Cup to new generations,” Lopez said. For whom the emotional factor can produce extraordinary “surprises” such as “the number three hundred in the ATP rankings can beat the number seven in the world.”

On the field, he admitted that he “is having a very bad time playing this cup” because the responsibility is completely different. When you compete just for yourself, not when you represent an entire country, of which you see yourself as a short-term leader, even though you don’t match up with players of your generation.

The finals director pointed out that the young Spanish tennis players do not have the solid mass as in previous years, so The absence of Carlos Alcaraz from the group stage constituted a “psychological blow” and could have affected the team “more” than in other stages of selection.