'Utter disgrace' led to Canada's Davis Cup win

1 year ago 70

Canada's drought-breaking Davis Cup win implicit Australia has re-opened statement over a arguable decision by the International Tennis Federation backmost successful March.

The ITF handed Canada a wildcard into the finals contempt the information they were thrashed 4-0 by the Netherlands successful the qualifying round.

But a spot successful the finals needed to beryllium filled erstwhile Russia was booted retired for invading Ukraine.

Instead of giving the spot to a victor from the second-tier World Group I, Canada was fixed a reprieve arsenic the highest ranked losing nation.

"What an utter disgrace," Australian fable Todd Woodbridge tweeted erstwhile the determination was announced successful March.

"Canada has mislaid this year, but fixed a 2nd accidental wildcard.

"This is simply a caller debased for our sport.

"Just can't fathom however acold this large contention has sunk."

In a file for Wide World of Sports days aft the determination was made, Woodbridge said the determination to grant the wildcard to Canada "is conscionable the latest successful a drawstring of disgraceful decisions that person done thing but harm a once-great tournament."

"For reasons that could champion beryllium described arsenic unfathomable, the organisers decided to springiness Canada a wildcard into the finals," helium wrote.

"Instead of rewarding a state that really had a triumph successful their opening necktie from World Group I, Canada are fixed a escaped thrust into the finals.

"It's simply incorrect and unfair.

"Where's the legitimacy of having a state that has already mislaid going done to the finals, up of Chile, who were the top-ranked winners successful World Group I?"

Woodbridge's stance was echoed by United States Davis Cup skipper Mardy Fish, who noted successful September that the tourney "isn't an accumulation lawsuit wherever we marque up rules arsenic we go. Davis Cup has been astir implicit 100 years."

The 2003 US Open champion, Andy Roddick, said astatine the clip that it would beryllium "tough to see them (Canada) legitimate" if they went connected to win.

Woodbridge, who represented Australia successful 32 Davis Cup ties, besides took purpose astatine the overhaul of the tourney that took spot successful 2019, changing the historical lawsuit from a bid of home-and-away ties to a round-robin format amongst the finalists.

"The enactment of the Davis Cup committee needs a superior overhaul. It needs radical who the players respect and subordinate to, and radical who enactment the bully of the contention up of each else," helium wrote.

"I tin lone anticipation that that overhaul tin beryllium done earlier it's excessively late."

Canada's 2-0 triumph implicit Australia successful Spain gave that federation its archetypal Davis Cup rubric since the tourney began successful 1900.

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