Davis Cup Finals group stage moved to September

LONDON: The group stage of the 2022 Davis Cup Finals will be held in mid-September, the International Tennis Federation said on Thursday, in the wake of players' pleas against a late finish to the season.

The 2021 edition of the men's team competition finished on Dec. 5 at the Madrid Arena when a Daniil Medvedev-led Russian team defeated Croatia in the final, leaving players with less than a month before the new season kicked off in Australia.

The 2022 Finals will see 16 nations competing in four groups across four cities with each staging one group of four teams from Sept. 14-18, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and event owners Kosmos Tennis said.

The top eight teams will then advance to the knockout stages, which will serve as the season-ending event on the men's tennis calendar and will be held from Nov. 23-27 in a fifth host city.

The season will finish, therefore, a week earlier than in 2021.

"Players and captains were clear that they like the changes to the format so far, but want to avoid the late finish to the season," tournament director Albert Costa said in a statement. "The decision to move the group stage to September addresses this."

The ITF is yet to name the host cities for the Finals. Agencies

Also Read:   Sumit Nagal dropped from Davis Cup squad against Denmark

Also Watch: