On Tennis: Giving Davis Cup a real sense of importance

In past years it has been a case of ducking in and pulling away from an unyielding format. It wasn’t like that in the 1980s when John McEnroe arrived in Dublin swashbuckling and mouthy.

McEnroe scorched enough courts with his withering words but the American was one of the players who had unconditional love for the Davis Cup. He still has. But it hasn’t always been shared.

In recent years players like Roger Federer and Andy Murray have warmed and cooled and warmed and then cooled to the Davis Cup that this year takes place one week after Wimbledon ends.

Irish players like Conor Niland and James McGee have also missed ties, Niland because his first call as a scholarship player had to be to his college in Berkley.

McGee, named on Wednesday as the number one Irish player for Ireland’s July date against South Africa (with Sam Barry, James Cluskey and David O’Hare), has also strayed. Chasing ranking points and a career on the circuit is a singularly blinkered pursuit and sometimes Davis Cup weeks have been a diversion more than an opportunity.

“Yes there are always issues,” says Niland. “James is at a point in his career where he feels he has a year or two of a window where he can make a push from Challengers up to the main tour.

“When you are in college you have a scholarship and so your college has first call for those four years. When I was professional I always made myself available and always got something out of Davis Cup.”

Injecting experience that had him ranked 129 before retirement, he sees the event – quite a mouthful known as the Euro-African Zone Group 11– as a sure-fire benefit to Irish tennis and the players.

‘Huge difference’

“I feel it benefited in my career especially in the first few years,” he says. “I got a chance to play a couple of guys ranked 150 in the world when I was around 500. I wouldn’t get to compete against those guys week to week.

“I had a couple of five setters (Only Grand Slams and Davis Cup play five sets.) and I drew a lot from it. It makes a huge difference. There is a different dimension to it. It’s a high level just under the ATP Tour. It’s professional tennis.”

Ireland’s meeting in South Africa is a relegation match having lost to Belarus earlier in the year. Defeat would mean the team rolls down hill into Group 111 for the first time since 2007. Tennis fans may know that. But the general public do not.

The level begs the question if Ireland are filling in numbers and giving truth to the International Tennis Federation to peddle their slogan of being the biggest international annual team event in sport, this year encompassing 126 nations.

Below the top group, where 12 teams compete, are the Zone Groups. The zones are divided into three regions: Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe/Africa. Within each region there are either three or four divisions. Group I is the highest and Group IV is the lowest. Ireland, with a Davis Cup world ranking of 61, are in a battle to stay out of Group 111. South Africa are ranked at 41.

“It’s a great brand. It has been around for a 100 years,” says Niland. “The top players play and the top players want to win it. Federer, (Novak) Djokovic, (Rafael) Nadal they have all won it and Murray, since the [British] team is in the World Group, is now is committing to almost every tie. Yeah, he ducked out when they were down in Group II.

“But Davis Cup has also brought some brilliant players to Ireland. We’ve had (Goran) Ivanisevic in 2000. We’ve obviously had McEnroe here going back to the Matt Doyle days. (Marcos) Bagdatis has been here playing. From that standpoint it’s great for us.”

Sense of irony

A sense of irony is required. Ireland are in a bottom-heap scrap just as Niland is team building and supporting that Davis Cup has currency and is not old news.

He has brought in Jamie Delgado as his assistant coach. Delgado currently coaches top-50 player, Gilles Muller.

“Jamie has done brilliantly with Gilles Muller. When he started he was 200 in the world. Now I think he’s 40,” says Niland. “I wanted an assistant who could bring even more.”

A new look okay. But can it turn heads.