Os jogadores e ex-jogadores, principais protagonistas do espetáculo que é a Taça Davis reagiram à votação realizada em Orlando para a alteração do formato da competição.
A grande maioria dos que se expressaram foi de forma negativa, referindo que o maior torneio de nações morreu por causa do dinheiro, que esta nova inovação é uma vergonha e queixaram-se de não terem sido consultados na altura da votação.
“Sempre joguei por paixão, agora um evento incrível tornou-se apenas dinheiro”, escreveu Robin Haase na sua conta do Twitter. Quem foi mais longe, foi Lucas Pouille, que refere que a “ITF é uma vergonha para o ténis”.
Nicolas Mahut afirma que “a Taça Davis está morta por um punhado de dólares”, enquanto Yannick Noah fala “num dia triste para o ténis” e Boris Becker declara estar “sem palavras quanto à decisão”.
Não é só dos jogadores que vêm as críticas, também de federações como a alemã ou a australiana. A Federação Alemã de Ténis, na voz do seu presidente, lamenta que “infelizmente, a discussão dos últimos dias foi mais sobre o dinheiro do que o desporto”. Já a Tennis Australia escreve que “esta reforma destrói a maior parte do espírito da Taça Davis”.
For English speaking fans #ripdaviscup pic.twitter.com/XFM0zRicxo
— Tomáš Berdych (@tomasberdych) August 17, 2018
Couldn’t agree more @la_pouille https://t.co/5eUdBn5eVf
— Lleyton Hewitt (@lleytonhewitt) August 17, 2018
One of my biggest dream as a kid was to one day play a Davis Cup final in front of my home crowd. Sadly I’ll never have the chance to experience Davis cup like I grew up watching it😢 I still hoped tradition and history would win over money, but I guess that’s where we are now..
— Félix AugerAliassime (@felixtennis) August 16, 2018
The Davis Cup changes seem interesting, but it would’ve been cool if the players had some sort of say. The lack of voice afforded to players is pretty ridiculous.
— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) August 16, 2018
Loss of words about the decision today….#DavisCup
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) August 16, 2018
„Sadly, the discussion in the last few days was mainly about money and not about the sport”, says DTB President Ulrich Klaus after the disappointing #daviscupvote in Orlando.
— DeutscherTennisBund (@DTB_Tennis) August 16, 2018
😢😢
— Julien Benneteau (@julienbenneteau) August 16, 2018
A footballer gets the stage at @ITF_Tennis AGM to tell us why @DavisCup needs to change but legends of the game of which there are many who disagree do not.
— Todd Woodbridge (@toddwoodbridge) August 16, 2018
Hey @daviscup
Quick question. Was wondering when the players vote is for the Davis Cup changed format is.
Haven’t received the memo yet.
Cheers 👋 #daviscup #daviscupvote #dc
— John Millman (@johnhmillman) August 16, 2018
Même Cincinnati pleure cette décision ridicule de @ITF_Tennis Les 12 voix de la FFT ont fait très mal.Décision très difficile à assumer en tant que français…La CD est morte et une partie de l’histoire de notre sport envolée pour une poignée de dollars. #decudenoselus #politique pic.twitter.com/UfsfRuKhAd
— Nico Mahut (@nmahut) August 16, 2018
I always played tennis because it is my passion. Yes many players can make a good living from it. So do I. However it is not the reason why I started. It has always been an honour to represent my country but now a beautiful event only became about money.
— Robin Haase (@robin_haase) August 16, 2018
118 années d histoire @DavisCup balayées grâce à quelques billets !!! #triste#moneymoneymoney#vivelesport!
— steve darcis (@stevedarcishark) August 16, 2018
😢 Pic via @arfarfarfy pic.twitter.com/S8Nf6FaGGd
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) August 16, 2018
@ITF_Tennis You guys are a shame for tennis …😶 Let’s enjoy our last davis cup year and lets try to keep it home.. 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
— Lucas Pouille (@la_pouille) August 16, 2018
Anyone miss the old @DavisCup format?!! 🙋🏻♂️
— Ken Skupski 🏡 (@k_skupski) August 16, 2018
Tennis Australia statement re #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/qvuGAJa397
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) August 16, 2018
Honte à tous ceux joueurs, dirigeants et médias qui viennent de vendre l’âme de la Coupe Davis @DavisCup . Triste jour pour le tennis. #CoupeDavis
— Yannick Noah (@NoahYannick) August 16, 2018
Pas de mots pour décrire mon immense déception. C’est la fin d’une institution qui aura fait tant rêvé joueurs et amoureux du tennis à travers le monde. Le business prend, une fois encore,le pas sur l’histoire et les valeurs du sport. Merci @daviscup de m’avoir tant donné ! 😢
— Fabrice Santoro (@fabsantoro72) August 16, 2018