Gerard Pique’s revamp of the Davis Cup has not been a smooth process, in either the football or tennis world, but there have been enough highs during the inaugural tournament this week for it to already seem a worthwhile endeavour.
His changes crunch down an unwieldy tournament, which lasted four weekends over the year, to one week in November and a qualifying round in February.
Some top stars skipped matches to lessen their playing schedules, showing the need for reform, but tennis is still torn over whether Pique’s ‘World Cup of tennis’ will ruin or save the tournament.
The Barcelona defender’s investment group, Kosmos, has committed to pumping $3 billion (£2.3bn) into the event over the next 25 years, having made a deal with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to take control of the 119-year-old competition.
Rakuten, Barcelona’s sponsor, are part of the deal, with the cup officially known as the ‘Davis Cup by Rakuten’ until 2020.
Next Match
Pique has been linked to the Japanese retail company for years – through his Kerad Games business – and he helped set up their sponsorship of the Catalan giants by arranging a dinner for Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani and Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu in San Francisco in 2015.
That benefitted Barcelona but his involvement in the Davis Cup might not, even though it is largely taking place during the international break.
"I hardly get four or five hours of sleep a night," Pique said in an interview. "I don't have time for everything."
The 32-year-old’s performances have not been at his usual standard this season for the club, with fans and media wondering if his business interests are having a negative impact on his game.
Pique denies it but Barcelona will breathe a sigh of relief when the tournament ends on Sunday and he can get back to focusing on his playing career.
However, the debate over the revamp will not die down any time soon.
Twenty-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer has already stated that he does not approve of a footballer "meddling" with one of tennis' most famous tournaments and famously said that the “Davis Cup should not become the Pique Cup.”
The pair's row has rumbled on for months, although Federer’s unwillingness to play was rendered moot as Switzerland failed to qualify and were not invited as a wildcard.
Federer, though, is not the only tennis legend to take umbrage at Pique’s involvement.
"We're getting run by a Spanish football player,” said Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt. “That's like me coming out and making changes to the Champions League.”
He complained that under the new format the partisan home crowds which marked epic Davis Cup matches in the past were no longer going to be a feature of the tournament.
“For the ITF to take that away from the next generation of future stars is a disgrace,” the 1999 and 2003 Davis Cup winner fumed.
However, 11 of the world’s top 20 players are at the tournament, including Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. Both have backed the changes, while Britain’s Andy Murray said that the detractors need to “let it go”.
Pique maintains he has the sport's best interests at heart.
"I've liked tennis since I was little, I went to watch the Barcelona Open many years,” he told Marca. “I played tennis and football when I was younger but chose football because it fitted me better.
"I still play when I can and I’m not bad, I win my games. I don’t see sport as a vehicle for making money, but for people to enjoy.”
Pique is borrowing from the football World Cup, where the whole tournament takes place in one country, and the Champions League final, where a warm and welcoming atmosphere is created in the host city around the game.
“I want them to have the best week of their lives,” Pique said, of players and fans. “I want the Davis Cup to be a party around tennis, not just tennis.”
His partner Shakira will perform before the final, while his friend and former Barcelona team-mate Neymar was in attendance earlier this week.
The tournament's scheduling is an issue, though, as it comes at the end of the season, when many players are exhausted and looking forward to a well-earned winter break.
Getty/Goal
In addition, the Davis Cup is in direct competition with the ATP Cup, which takes place in January and is effectively viewed as a conveniently timed warm-up for the first major of every year, the Australian Open.
Pique, though, is hoping that he will eventually be able to merge the two tournaments.
“I have always said our idea is to open the door with the ATP to arrive at a deal," he told The Observer. "I think that this is the logical step for the future."
The quality of tennis has been good this week and the atmosphere boisterous but November in Madrid is chilly and many ties have not sold out.
The elimination of some big nations hasn't helped. Last year’s winners, Croatia, were eliminated at the group stage on day two, with United States following them out 24 hours later before Serbia sent France packing on Thursday.
Such upsets have been exciting for fans. Not exciting enough to stay up all night for, though.
Italy’s tie with the United States finished at 4:04 on Thursday morning, with the Caja Magica arena virtually empty.
Nadal said that "the only negative thing" about the revamp was the delays caused by long-running matches, even though they are playing to three sets instead of five.
The jury is still out on the revamp and doubtless this first edition already has areas to improve on, but it certainly has potential.
Expect further bumps in the road, though, in both of Pique’s sporting worlds.