The inaugural ATP Cup launches Friday in Australia in three locations, although "fronts" might be a better word to describe the roles Sydney, Brisbane and Perth will play in what is shaping up as a potential clash of the Cups.
In three short years, tennis has gone from having just one historic but ailing international team competition for men -- the original Davis Cup -- to three. None of them existed in their current form before 2017. There's Laver Cup, played in September shortly after the US Open. Next, the overhauled Davis Cup, which took place for the first time this year in a single venue (in Madrid) in late November, immediately following the ATP World Tour Finals. And coming up this week: the new ATP Cup.
ESPN analyst Cliff Drysdale has seen the game from every angle as a Davis Cup player, a pioneering pro and the first president of the ATP. He said in an interview, "I'm a big fan of the team competition concept. I like the idea of experimenting with new and different formats. I think this is a strong, positive development for tennis."
The women haven't kept pace, the ITF's Fed Cup (the Davis Cup for women) has outstanding moments but suffers from the same ills that plagued the men's version. It remains the game's only team event. Worse yet for the WTA, the ATP Cup has inflicted significant damage on the women's tennis tour. The new, nine-day ATP Cup has killed off two popular combined events, the Hopman Cup (an exhibition) and the once important Australian Open tune-up in Sydney.
But the outlook is improving for the WTA. Roger Federer opened the door for some sort of Laver Cup engagement with the WTA.
"We [his management at Team 8] would be open to it," Federer said at the first Laver Cup in Prague, but the matter seems to have ended there. Australia's hard-charging tennis entrepreneurs have made more headway, opening discussions on a potential WTA Cup team event. Micky Lawler, president of the WTA, wrote in an email: "We are talking to Australia about potentially having a WTA Cup that would launch in 2022. It is in the works, but we still have a ways to go. So no decisions, nothing final."
Tennis administrators, media members and scores of fans have succumbed to the allure of team play. The advantages it offers over simple, single-elimination tournaments are manifold and includes a more predictable schedule of play, sanctioned coaching (often by retired-but-still-beloved stars like Bjorn Borg or Marat Safin), and eye-catching activity on and beside the team benches. Who can forget Federer and Rafael Nadal strategizing like an NFL head coach and his defensive coordinator during the recent Laver Cup, or Nick Kyrgios doing a sliding belly flop on the sidelines after teammate Jack Sock clocked a winner?
Whether this is the start of a new trend that will energize the game anew or the start of yet another of tennis's famous "alphabet wars" (in this case, ATP vs. ITF) is yet to be determined. It may be both.
Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique is the front man for the investment group Kosmos, which came in as a kind of angel investor to turn the ITF's floundering Davis Cup into a more profitable, high-profile event with an investment of $3 billion over 25 years. Aware of the potential threat, Federer said back in April 2018, that it's "a bit odd" to see a footballer "meddle" in tennis, and he warned against the Davis Cup becoming the "Pique Cup."
The soccer star kept his powder dry until the end of the first new-look Davis Cup a few weeks ago. Pique suggested in a press conference in Madrid that Federer went on a highly publicized exhibition tour during Davis Cup in order to "protect" his own pet project, the Laver Cup. "It's [Laver Cup] his baby, his competition," Pique said. "He wants to protect and obviously to create as big as possible this exhibition."
The detail that was overlooked in many reports: Pique also has floated the idea of striking an alliance with the ATP in order to earn a sanction and move the Davis Cup to September. The would bring it into conflict with Federer's Laver Cup. The US Open usually ends around Sept. 10, Laver Cup has been played on or around the 20th. It's impossible to imagine another significant event wedged in between.
Some observers feel that the real goal of the ATP Cup is to deal a death blow to the struggling Davis Cup and, co-existing with Laver Cup, take over as the preeminent, "official" international team competition. As rising American star Reilly Opelka put it, "The ATP is trying to ruin Davis Cup."
It's a reasonable theory because the Davis Cup is vulnerable. Many reform advocates, including Drysdale, ended up unhappy with the final result. The flaws of the format used in Madrid are real, but that can be solved. The timing of the event, which took place the week after the ATP World Tour Finals and adds another week to an already overlong season, is an even greater challenge. Even Drysdale, who has a special affection for Davis Cup because it served as his career launching pad, admitted: "The Davis Cup is in a very tough place."
It may seem that the ATP is trying to create the better Davis Cup mousetrap with the ATP Cup, but there's a key difference. As Drysdale put it, "ATP Cup is really a regional event, not an international one. It was created to replace a bunch of tournaments in Australia."
It also serves as the season-opening hardcourt tune-up for the Australian Open, meaning it can't ever be played in a different part of the world on a different surface.
It's also uncertain if the ATP Cup will inspire players in the same way Davis Cup does. Despite the problems in Madrid, many participants remain Davis Cup believers. That includes young pros who had no prior experience in the competition.
"To me, it's about the history and tradition," Opelka, who is 22, said. "Watching [Andy] Roddick, the Bryans (Bob and Mike) in Davis Cup, it was something real special. The changes and problems haven't put me off. I'm going to be patient with it."
Novak Djokovic assumed a leadership role in ATP politics in the past 18 months, so it would be unseemly for him to decline to play in the ATP Cup (Federer is abstaining for "personal" reasons). Djokovic also knows that millions of patriotic fans worldwide, especially in smaller nations, ignore the media and put a great deal of stock in Davis Cup. Djokovic played for Serbia in Madrid and told reporters, "When we talk about team competitions, you know, Davis Cup has always been the one that stands out. It is the most historic one."
At the moment, Laver Cup looks to be on the firmest footing. It has landed in a sweet spot on the calendar, the establishment has given the event its blessing. Federer and Co. have avoided the familiar controversy that haunts some special (non-tournament) events (including ATP Cup) that award ranking points, offering none -- just a nice, fat paycheck and a unique bonding experience that the pros have cherished.
The spectacular success of the event can be attributed to the personal clout of Federer, the crisp expertise with which his associates launched and produced three versions of the event and the innate appeal of the format to players and spectators alike.
Kyrgios, abandoning his role as tour hellion to take a turn as soothsayer, told the Australian Associated Press during the Davis Cup that tennis would "die out" if it didn't embrace more team competitions.
"You look at the Laver Cup, you had 17,000 people cheering every night," Kyrgios said. "For entertainment purposes, I don't think too many people are going to tune in to watch [an ATP] 250 event in Antwerp."
The down side of an event like Laver Cup being so closely associated with one man (Federer) is that it raises the question of sustainability. On the other hand, the Federer "brand" isn't likely to fade as quickly as his ranking will when his playing days are over. Some wonder how all three events can prosper and survive.
"Why not?" Drysdale said. "Look at soccer. Every time I turn around, there's a different cup tournament going on -- European Cup, World Cup, Winners' Cup, there's a cup for everything."
At the moment, the cups certainly look half full.