(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Spain's Juan Margets, a candidate to be the next president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), wants change to restore the reputation of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, but he thinks that change need not be dramatic.
"My proposal is reform, realistic evolution, not revolution. I think that is not necessary. The Davis Cup and the Fed Cup need to improve a few things to turn them into more global products," Margets told dpa in a telephone interview.
His plan to update the two team competitions in the sport rests on three pillars: making matches shorter, increasing prizes for players and having the finals of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup played simultaneously in one fixed venue.
"We need to preserve the model of a clash between countries at home and away as the main format, but I have proposed playing the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup finals in one venue, together. Not together sports-wise, but in terms of the venue," the Spaniard, current executive vice president of the ITF and head of its Davis Cup committee, told dpa from Barcelona.
"And with a fixed venue for several years, three or five, we will try to turn it into a more global event. That would be from 2017, because it requires changing the rules," Margets said. "The idea is to do something like a big week, the ITF's 10 days, with the assembly, a youth tournament and combining the two finals of the professional tournaments."
In recent years, many tennis stars have declined to play the two team competitions. The demanding ATP tour and the poor financial incentive are the major obstacles, but Margets thinks he knows what to do.
The Spaniard officially unveiled his candidacy on Saturday. The outgoing ITF president, Italy's Francesco Ricci Bitti, will not be standing for re-election during the organization's annual meeting on September 25 in Santiago, and India's Anil Khanna, the United States's Dave Haggerty and Switzerland's Rene Stammbach are the other candidates so far.
"One of the ideas I have in mind is to try to shorten the duration of matches. From the fifth-set tie break to contemplating a tie break on 5-5 in each set. That would shorten matches and long sets quite a bit," Margets said. "That is a suggestion not just for the Davis Cup but for any competition."
That would save one change of side and two games. "We have looked into it statistically, and it's between 12 and 14 minutes. One match with two or three tie breaks would be shortened by 30 or 40 minutes," he said. Margets ruled out reducing matches to three sets, for lack of consensus among players. "The player community is very much divided. They think the Davis Cup is tough, but at the same time they think it's a special event, and there is no consensus. We are open, but it takes lots of consultations," Margets said.
The Spaniard, and economist by training who was Spanish champion as a child but never turned professional, said the ITF has signed a lucrative agreement with Qatari TV network BeIn Sports which will allow them to increase prizes. "We will double our income. There are going to be more resources available for federations and players," he said.
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