Novak Djokovic unhappy with uncertain future of Davis Cup: "So far no one has been communicating with us"

Novak Djokovic is set to represent Serbia at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain. The recently crowned ATP Finals champion would hope to guide Serbia to their second Davis Cup title after the nation won the tournament in 2010.

Ahead of their quarterfinal tie on November 23, Djokovic and his fellow Serbian teammates Dusan Lajovic, Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic, Hamad Medjedovic, as well as team captain Viktor Trociki, sat down for their pre-tournament press conference.

The team discussed an array of topics, and one of them was the much-scrutinized and controversial format of the Davis Cup. Since 2019, the matches between the teams have been played in neutral venues. Matches were played in a home-and-away format before that.

Many prominent players, including Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, have slammed the new format and now Novak Djokovic seems to have joined the chorus.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion stated that he is aware of the controversy and believes that a combination of the new and old format is the best way forward.

"Well, I know there has been a lot of discussions on that subject. Also with Kosmos and ITF and Kosmos taking the ownership of the competition years ago, and then changing the format, there has been a lot of criticism on that," he said.

"I actually personally feel that the best format will be somewhere in between the old one and the new one, but I don't think that this is best for the nations participating in the World Group," he added.

Djokovic also expressed his displeasure at being unable to play the Davis Cup in Serbia. The World No. 1 argued that having matches in front of the home crowd helps nurture local talent and is beneficial for the future of tennis.

"The fact that we, as a team, have not played in Serbia many years is not great, because we don't give an opportunity to, you know, people in Serbia to watch us play, especially young people, young tennis players. You know, it also allows Federation to benefit in different ways from that home tie. So hopefully that can be back in some way," he said.

The Serb hopes to have an open discussion on the format of the Davis Cup and believes different teams can provide valuable insights to make the tournament perfect. However, he claimed that no one from the ITF had communicated with him or the team.

"I don't have in my mind personally a perfect format. I think it's important to put it out on the table and discuss, but not discuss behind the closed doors. Discuss with players and discuss with Davis Cup teams. I think everyone should have their say, because so far no one has been really communicating with us from ITF," Djokovic said.

"So that's something I feel like should change, because obviously we also are very integral part of this competition. I feel like we can give some valuable information and feedback on what we think is the right way," he added.

---

Novak Djokovic-led Serbia to face Great Britain in Davis Cup quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic

Serbia will begin the knockout phase of the 2023 Davis Cup Finals against Great Britain on November 23. The fourth quarterfinal will feature two singles and one doubles tie. It will be played at the Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga, Spain.

Dusan Lajovic will face Jack Draper. Djokovic will go up against Cameron Norrie. Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski will face Laslo Djere and Miomir Kecmanovic in the doubles match. Great Britain is missing some key players for the Finals, including Andy Murray and Dan Evans.

In other quarterfinals, underdogs Finland ousted defending champions Canada, 2-1, in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. The Czech Republic is playing Australia on November 22. Meanwhile, Italy will face off against Netherlands on November 23.