Fitzgerald open to tennis World Cup

Australian Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald has welcomed talk of the slated World
Cup of Tennis, saying he was all for any new concept that brought more people to the
sport.
Details emerged on Wednesday of a tournament that could feature 32 teams in a 10-day
biennial event, supported by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak
Djokovic and masterminded by Melbourne-based sports and marketing firm gemba -
headed by former Essendon AFL star James Hird.
It would reportedly run along the lines of the soccer World Cup with mooted concepts
including shorter fixtures and forced substitution of players during matches.
Far from grimly protecting his patch, Fitzgerald, the Davis Cup coach since 2001 and
before that a longstanding player for Australia, said he'd love to hear more about
it.
"Davis Cup has always been a huge part of my life and I always placed a lot of
emphasis on it and so has Australia - there's a hundred years of history there,"
Fitzgerald said.
"But if there's a concept that comes along that has merit and has the ability to
bring more people into tennis and to create interest in the sport and is legitimate
and exciting than I have no problems in exploring the possibilities with it.
In a packed tennis schedule where players are already complaining about too many
matches, the reality is the Davis Cup and another world tournament may not survive
at the same time.
While Australian No.1 Lleyton Hewitt has always put his hand up for the Davis Cup,
support from other top players such as Federer and Nadal has wavered.
But Hird said the intention wasn't for the proposed tournament to take over from the
Davis Cup.
"Being Australian, Davis Cup means a lot. I've got great memories of Pat Cash, Pat
Rafter and now Lleyton Hewitt and their Davis Cup exploits and I appreciate how much
it means," Hird told the Associated Press.
"But there's a consumer out there who wants more. And if we can bring a new tennis
fan to the game, that's what we're aiming for.
"If it has the same success as Twenty20 cricket, the tennis family would be very
happy. It's not as radical as that.
"Obviously there's questions about viability, calendar and scope of the rules ...
but it can work."
Fitzgerald suggested regardless of any new concepts it was up to the International
Tennis Federation to look at how the Davis Cup could be improved.
"The governing body I think has been very staid in regards to their adherence to the
current format," he said.
"I think we all have to have open minds as time goes on."