Gerard Piqué is “pessimistic” about the Davis Cup finals to be held in Madrid (November 23-29) and in which Spain would defend title. The Barcelona central, owner of the Kosmos group who partnered with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to give a new format to the centuries-old competition, spoke in #Vamos (Movistar) about the current situation that tennis is going through, Currently stopped until July 13.
“There is a lot of uncertainty. We try to be aware of everything that the Superior Council of Sports and the Government says about it, if we can put people in the Caja Mágica. I see it a bit pessimistic, because a Davis Cup without people is difficult, but let's see “he pointed out. Both the president, Pedro Sánchez, and the secretary of state for sport, Irene Lozano, have already warned that it will be difficult to see full stadiums until there is a vaccine.
“There are different options, nobody is sure now that we are going to be able to play or behind closed doors. As the weeks go by we will have a little clarity on the subject, within what we can. We are prepared in case we end up organizing it, “he said.
At competition restart protocol prepared by the CSD, already in the last of the phases (4), it is considered as a “general rule” that all the competitions are behind closed doors “at least until there is a health guarantee that cancels the risk of authorizing public access.” They could afford, if the situation is good, gauges of a maximum of 50%.
Sources from the Kosmos Group believe that in early June, when the ATP decides what will happen with the US tour and the US Open, the picture can be clarified. “The advantage is that we are at the end of the calendar and the disadvantage, which is an event that cannot be relocated,” they admit. Talks with the ITF, which monitors the global health situation with a group of experts, are weekly. The Davis Cup finals involve 18 countries (Spain was framed in a group with Russia and Ecuador), and it is feared that international movement restrictions will prevent the arrival of teams, which would make the tournament unfeasible.