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Tuesday 12 September is the day of the official start of the Davis Cup group stage, scheduled in Bologna, Manchester, Valencia and Split respectively. In the British city, Stan Wawrinka, ready to challenge the French team together with his teammates, published a controversial video on social media just a few minutes before the start of the first match.
The expert player immortalized the very little presence of the public in the stands, sharing a video on Twitter in which you can see the stands completely empty for the first match of group B. Here is the video that immediately went around the web, from the native of Lausanne: "Thank you ITG and Gerard Piqué!"
Thank you @3gerardpique @ITFTennis 🤬🤦🏻♂️!
@DavisCup France vs Switzerland in Manchester lol pic.twitter.com/XqcqSQEURd — Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) September 12, 2023
Chaos in Davis Cup: how many controversies!
The 38-year-old is not the only one to criticize the current format of the team event.
Various professionals have expressed their opinion on the matter, underlining how the competition needs some changes to become more fun and exciting again. David Ferrer, captain of Spain who will not be able to count on Carlos Alcaraz, recently spoke on the topic: "Times are always tight, you can look for alternatives, but I couldn't tell you what changes to make.
I hope this competition has more space in the future, more calendar freedom so that the players can be present. As children we all dreamed of playing this competition, but the format should be changed and work could be done to make it more attractive." Feliciano Lopez added: "There has been a lot of talk about the format, but what we all agreed on a few years ago was that the previous one should be changed.
My feeling is that people are happy with this format now." Obviously the controversy does not subside over what a sporting event as ancient and important as the Davis Cup is undergoing, and in the coming months it is hoped that something will change.