Andy Murray, Jack Draper, Dan Evans-led team witnesses largest crowd turnout in Great Britain's Davis Cup history as they reach the final 8

Andy Murray, Jack Draper and Dan Evans-led Great Britain 2023 Davis Cup team was cheered on by record number of fans in Manchester on Sunday, September 17.

Great Britain was drawn alongside Switzerland, France and Australia in Group B of the Davis Cup Finals, with the ties taking place in Manchester’s AO Arena.

The home team defeated Australia 2-1 in the opening tie, with 9000 fans in attendance. This was followed by a 2-1 victory over Switzerland.

On Sunday, Great Britain took on France in a winner-takes-all contest. The British emerged victorious and booked their spot in the final 8 after edging out the opponents in a dramatic deciding-set tiebreak in the final doubles match.

The squad, which included Dan Evans, Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper and Neal Skupski, received maximum support from their home crowd. A whopping 13,000 fans attended the event, making it the largest single-day turnout in British Davis Cup history.

This was in stark contrast to the support Switzerland and France received during their face-off just days ago. Stan Wawrinka, who led the Swiss team, was left fuming after the two teams were greeted by an almost empty AO Arena in Manchester. He captured a video of the stadium and called out the organizers as well as former partner, Gerard Pique (former Barcelona and Spain footballer and the founder of Kosmos Holding).

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"It feels wrong; I think the format will have to change" – Andy Murray on the contrasting turnout in Davis Cup ties

Andy Murray celebrates Great Britain's Davis Cup win over France in front of packed Manchester crowd

Andy Murray shared his opinion on the low turnout in Manchester’s AO Arena during Switzerland’s match against France on September 12. The Brit acknowledged the home crowd's support during Great Britain's matches but said that it is a ‘shame’ that the guest teams are made to play in empty stadiums.

"We’re fortunate here because we get to play all of the matches in a brilliant atmosphere, great crowd. It is a shame when France and Australia, two of the biggest tennis nations, they love their Davis Cup, and they’re playing in front of what feels like an empty stadium," Andy Murray said.

Murray hoped that the format of the tournament would return to a home-and-away schedule to ensure a solid turnout for all Davis Cup matches.

"It feels wrong. I think the format will have to change if it’s going to be successful again. All the players loved the home-and-away ties, I think the fans loved the home-and-away ties as well. Hopefully there’s a way we can get it back to that," Andy Murray added.

The Davis Cup’s home-and-away format was changed to a single group host format after Gerard Pique’s investment group Kosmos Holding struck a 25-year deal with the ITF with an aim to transform the tournament.

Earlier this year, however, the ITF abruptly terminated its partnership with Pique’s Kosmos after the bodies failed to reach an agreement over their business model’s renegotiation.

Despite ending the partnership with Kosmos, it appears that the current format, which has been criticized by several players, is here to stay.

Former Australian tennis player Mark Woodforde, who is the chair of the Davis Cup committee, recently said that the home-and-away format was not working despite what some players might suggest.

“We’re fully aware that some players will say, ‘Why don’t we go back to that home-and-away format?’ That format was not working,” he told the PA agency after the Switzerland- France fiasco. “Even without Kosmos being involved, we think the changes we’ve made are positive.”