Jiří Lehečka

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Davis Cup champion Jan Hájek at home in Amberg, Germany, not far from the border with the Czech Republic, where he trains youth and enthusiasts, turned on the TV for a moment to see how the Slovak team in Zhuhai, China, will handle their debut in the Davis Cup final tournament.

He watched Lukáš Klein lose 4:6, 5:7 to the German Maximilian Marterer, and shook his head over the chamber backdrop as if in a church. He still can’t get it over his heart. This format of the famous competition is not only against his skin. The Chinese do not even start in it, they only host one of the four groups, the Czechs started their mission in Spain against the home team unsuccessfully.

Slovak and German tennis players traveled all over the globe to play matches that nobody really cares about on the spot. “There were about one hundred and fifty spectators,” Hájek does not understand. “That makes no sense at all, the Slovaks got into the world group after a long time and it was a very sad sight. You hit the winning ball and ten people on the bench applaud you. That’s the training atmosphere.’

The legendary Czech tennis player Jiří Novák is also among the critics of the current form of the famous competition. “I don’t want to reduce it, condemn it, how would the guys who play for the national team and are not responsible for it, it’s a totally changed format. The original one was not so much for the players, but for the fans. When ten thousand people are cheering, I have the most beautiful memories. It’s not like a tournament where the cheering is so tepid. The original team competition in the individual sport was top,” he can compare.

“Playing the Davis Cup in China without China? This is completely absurd. There is incredible money moving there, complete nonsense. I don’t envy them, let them earn a hundred times as much, but what does it mean that Slovakia flies to China, where no one is watching. Even last year in Valencia, there were half-empty stadiums and they only have a capacity of five thousand people,” he sighs.

They were lured by the sight of money

In 2019, the Davis Cup experienced an earthquake. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) agreed with the production agency Kosmos, owned by star Spanish footballer Gerard Pique, and the usual knockout system was replaced by a final tournament for 18 teams, who were divided into six groups of three, with the top eight advancing to the play-offs. At the same time, the duels were shortened to two winning sets. The Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain and Australia were against the revolution, but more than 70 percent of the delegations agreed with the proposal.

The Kosmos group planned to invest three billion dollars in the new format over the next 25 years, but in January 2023, the ITF prematurely terminated the contract with Kosmos after fierce criticism, and former Barcelona footballer Piqué is demanding $50 million in compensation. “What we have done with the Davis Cup is a tremendous success. The competition was declining, and we returned it to where it belongs in terms of sports and economics, as well as viewership,” he says.

Novák sees it differently: “Piqué bought the rights, it worked for five years before the ITF found out that it was a complete scam, nonsense. So let them judge. They were lured by the sight of money. It’s a terrible shame for tennis, the history of the Davis Cup.”

The last years look a little different. After the February qualification, which was the only one that remained almost unchanged (i.e. with four singles and one doubles), instead of 18 selections, only the best 16, divided into four groups of four around the world – in Bologna, Manchester , Valencia and Zhuhai, the play-offs will take place again in November in Malaga, Spain.

“When the changes were coming, I knew it was wrong. It’s a business like everything else, but this is a parody of the Davis Cup, the fans don’t deserve that,” says Hájek without napkins. “I remember that when they agreed on this format, Radek Štěpánek wrote: RIP Davis Cup. He nailed it. He’s done, he’s dead. The Davis Cup is no longer the Davis Cup for me.”

Novak closes his eyes to see THAT Davis Cup again. He hears the commotion in Los Angeles’ famous Great Western Forum. How the audience fell silent when he destroyed the home favorite Pete Sampras in three sets with hard returns and accurate forehands. Although the star-studded USA team, led by world number one Andre Agassi, eventually turned the score around from 1:2 and passed the courageous Czech Republic to the semi-finals, strong memories of the 24-year-old struggle remain, because that is life.

Novák will not forget other memorable battles in the team competition of individual sports with the iconic ambassadors of his countries. On Russian opponents Kafelnikov and Davydenko, or Swedes Edberg and Björkman.

When it was a slaughterhouse

Although he was at one time the fifth best tennis player on the planet, the Davis Cup, in which he never reached the final despite incredible efforts and a warm record of 17-5 in singles and 10-2 in doubles, all the fantastic experiences and tournament scalps of Federer, Becker and other greats still exceeds

“I played for twelve years at the highest level, but my fondest memories are the Davis Cup, the fans. I was a heartthrob who played for the nation,” says Novák, who for a long time lacked a partner who would add another point. He regretted that he did not represent Radek Štěpánek for three years. “But the atmosphere in front of full stadiums was unique. We played it at the weekend against one opponent. Mostly I played three matches in 48 hours for three winning sets, it was a slaughterhouse.’

Hájek, who did not have as bright a career as his predecessor, was able in 2013 to do what Novák wanted so much – to lift a salad bowl. “I wasn’t an extra tennis player, I was in the top 100 for a few years, but I knew that I couldn’t win a Grand Slam or any big tournament. The Davis Cup comes first for me. I’m glad I took part in it,” he explains. “Without Berdych and Štěpánek, those successes would never have been achieved, I’m aware of that, but I’m glad that I could at least contribute to it in a small way and was a valid member of the winning team. I was lucky to play when there were Berďa and Štěpec. I could have been on the team with them for a few years. We took turns there with Rosol, Dlouhý, Minář. I will always remember that. I get goosebumps when I hear the Davis Cup jingle. Or when historic Davis Cup matches jump out at me on YouTube.”

The pity is that their followers are mostly deprived of the wonderful tennis environment in front of the passionate fans. “Nothing can beat the atmosphere when teams play home and away, with full stands behind them. It has a completely different charge. The format that they will meet somewhere in Spain, England or now the Slovaks had to go to China for a week and are playing for promotion in front of empty stands is irrelevant,” continues Hájek. “I am especially sorry for the fans. Ours now with the Spaniards in Spain is full thanks to the fact that Alcaraz will be playing, but tomorrow against Australia, a third of the stadium will be there.”

Only top players can make a difference

Hájek hopes that the unique magic of the Davis Cup will come to life again. “The only ones who can make those changes are the players, but the best players. No one will listen to a player who is ranked 30th in the world. If something is to change, a new generation like Alcaraz, Sinner, who can be the new Federer, Djokovic, Nadal for the next ten years, must stand up for it,” he reflects. “But it’s still a business. The Davis Cup is under the ITF, if they give it to China and get brutal money from the Chinese, it will be difficult to change it. Those players still play it, last year Sinner won it with Italy. If they got away with it and the state sent second-level players there, there wouldn’t be tennis players in their fifties at all, so maybe something could be done about it. But when the players play it, they show that they don’t really mind.”

Novák adds: “I would like to return to the original system, but maybe they really like this model and now they will say to themselves, what is Novák doing, it’s great, we have it played in a week and we have peace, we can play our tournaments.” It took us four weeks as we progressed. They only play for two winning sets, so anyone can beat anyone.”

With the new format, the crucial advantage for the home team, which could choose the surface that suited them best and, above all, the one that least suited the opponent, disappeared. “Choosing a surface was a huge advantage, now it’s playing on a neutral one. The Australians usually invited their opponents to the grass, the Spaniards to the clay, we Czechs had something faster in the hall, almost such an ice surface,” smiles Hájek.

He enjoyed the unique team spirit that he had not experienced on the circuit. “It happens a few times a year, you are a team, you pull together. For a tennis player, it’s a diversion that football players probably find difficult to understand. I enjoy team sports,” he explains. “Even though there were worse moments during the week, it’s not easy for everyone to get along, but when the rules are set, you can enjoy the week. Especially when you’re winning and you don’t have to go to the playoffs.”

The bright future of Czech young men

Both Novák and Hájek are excited about the upcoming generation of compatriots with rackets – Jiří Lehečka, Tomáš Macháč, Jakub Menšík and doubles specialist Adam Pavlásk. “All three of them can be in the top 20 in the world in singles, Pavlásek caught on in doubles, they are good with Macháč. We have a great team,” praises Hájek. “We don’t have to be afraid now. For a while it looked pale after the end of Berdych, Rosol, Veselý was not doing well. If the guys are healthy, we don’t have to worry about the next ten years.”

Novák agrees: “I really enjoy watching them. After ten years we have three guys at a high level and they can be even better. They can outdo each other, they have a healthy rivalry. Lehečka will again try to get through Macháč. They have ten years ahead of them where they can play excellent tennis.”

They believe they will advance to the playoffs in Málaga. “Even though Australia is unpleasant, one of the strongest teams, they have an incredible double,” points out Hájek. “France is playable again.”

In 1900, the American politician and passionate tennis player Dwight F. Davis had a bowl made for a thousand dollars by the famous company Shreve, Crump & Love, which became iconic. And the hunt for her began. Although perhaps too much has changed since then, the most famous experts in the tennis realm still want to lift her above their heads.