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Nadal reacts to winning AP Photo/ Manu Fernandez
When the idea came up in conversation a few months ago about creating a tennis World Cup, many fans of the Davis Cup strongly disagreed and debated the rationale behind it.
For over a hundred years the Davis Cup has been the foundation of global tennis competition. The best countries with the best players compete. The thought of making changes to the Holy Grail of tennis, albeit with the goal of generating interest in building the sport, is nothing more than a band aid on a worldwide problem. Money. When was the Davis Cup about money?
The idea of having a World Cup that will compete against the Davis Cup is simply wrong. Some fans feel that for any professional of todays generation to think that adding a World Cup as a great idea is simply showing their age and lack of respect for the players that put tennis on the map before them. The Davis Cup is the ultimate tennis Bible written over a century ago.
Some of the criticisms of the World Cup are interesting but lack an overall answer to the problem at hand. Revenue.
Revenue is a simple process of rich people coming up with new ideas of getting richer. Start at the root of the problem, the ground floor, and work up the chain of command making any internal changes that may be necessary to drive revenue. For example, if advertising dollars are not coming in, could the sales force need a change? Has anyone called GM, AT&T or maybe Gatorade yet?
The fact of the matter is, there is a global financial crisis affecting each nation on a variety of key factors. If the concern is a diminishing popularity of tennis, maybe the appropriate solution is to focus on better supporting the thousands of local tennis associations and teaching pros around the world who wish to improve their instructional programs in order to interest on a global grass roots scale instead of by simply adding another event that may only compete with the Davis Cup.
Some where in the world at this precise moment there is a little boy dreaming of playing for their country at the Davis Cup. -The Davis Cup is and always will be an attractive product, which has generated fans all around the world. There is no need to create another version and reinvent the wheel. Davis Cup is the World Cup.
Comments: email Dennis at Mesa Tennis Examiner
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