Regarding the purely sporting balance, the national team fulfilled the mission of this repechage and defeated the Eastern Europeans without major surprises, which guaranteed their place in the 2024 Qualifiers to fight for classification to the Finals of the year. next.
Davis Cup: victory against Lithuania and the future of Argentine tennis
With a young team and revitalized by the presence of Francisco Cerúndolo -made his debut as a local-, Sebastián Báez and Tomás Etcheverry -called for the first time- among the best 35 in the world, Argentina begins to form a threatening nation on all surfaces that invites us to forget some intimate imbalances of the recent past. So, the lights will now point to one of the most coveted places in Argentine tennis: the captain’s chair.
Ambit anticipated in the last hours the instability of the future of Guillermo Coria leading the albiceleste team. The general sporting objectives were not met. The “Mago” debuted last year, a season in which they qualified for the Finals, but the three defeats suffered in Bologna plus an internal affront that even forced Agustín Calleripresident of the Argentine Tennis Associationthey left the captain conditioned.
Whether or not the man from Santa Fe continues as Albiceleste driver will depend on three factors. On the one hand, the desire of the former tennis player himself, who has already publicly expressed his intention to prolong “the process.” “Hopefully I can continue for at least one more year, because I am comfortable. I haven’t spoken anything yet, there is time.”he indicated.
Regarding the pending dialogue with the managers, the 2004 Roland Garros finalist argued that he would do so after the series against Lithuania and highlighted on a couple of occasions that he is also a leader, in a clear sign of his own decision.
A second aspect involves the opinion of the players. All parties expressed that it will be a significant element in the final decision. From the AAT They assured this medium that, although it will not be the only “determining” voice, it will We will seek to agree with the tennis players which surname will be chosen.
Finally, the last word will be the leadership, a sort of small Davis Cup table embodied by Calleri, Martin Jaite, Mariano Zabaleta and Florence Labat. A no small detail changed in the last hours. Until a few weeks ago, the AAT was looking for a captain with a low profile, far from the flashes of The Legion; Now they do not take a dim view of the assumption of a face known to everyone and with its own history.
The phones in the offices on Maipú Street have already rang. Some applicants have already made their desire known and one of the names that is circulating most strongly is that of Fabian Blenginocoincidentally the coach who was with Coria in that historic final in Paris 19 years ago and Calleri’s coach in the early 2000s. The Buenos Aires coach worked alongside Guido Pella in its beginnings and from the end of 2022 until last Friday, when the Bahian announced his retirement from professional tennis.
Another name to consider is Juan Ignacio Chela, who formed a great duo for seven years on Diego Schwartzman’s bench. The great impediment that “Flaco” presents is that he took over as a stable coach of Juan Manuel Cerúndolo. Even a source of profound knowledge in Argentine tennis told Ambit “don’t rule out David Nalbandian”, who although he had periods as a coach (especially alongside the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic), the possibility would represent a function removed from the full-time scheme that requires accompanying a player. Furthermore, he is one of the few names that would have the approval of the majority of the leaders and the Argentine team.
In the immediate future, Coria He will be the captain of the men’s national delegation that will be at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile from November 17. His contract that links him to the front of the team Davis cup It will expire at the end of the year and that will not change.
If the internal political situation generates movements within the AAT, in the coming days it will be the global administration that will keep national leaders busy. Next September 24th there will be the vote for the new board of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) with a fight that promises to be close.
The Argentine representatives, led by Calleri, will travel to Cancun on Tuesday to participate in the assembly that must decide a third term for the American. David Haggerty –president since 2015 and promoter of the change in the format of the Davis Cup- or consecrate Dietloff Von Arnimholder of the German Tennis Federation and vice president of the European confederation.
According to what the Argentine entity revealed, Von Arnim has already contacted the national leaders, although informally, without presenting a comprehensive campaign platform, which they will already know in Mexican lands.
Another detail to consider, and unlike past elections, is that this time there will not be a bloc vote from the South American Tennis Confederation, but rather each country will opt for the candidate it considers appropriate.
This week there was a clear decline in the public’s interest in watching the Finals of Davis cup. The Swiss Stan Wawrinka highlighted several times the lack of attendees in Manchester and even rebuked that “the ITF is paying people to encourage each country and make noise at all the games.”
Since it was announced in January that the Gerard Piqué’s Kosmos Group canceled the contract with the entity based in Roehampton, London, (a situation that generated litigation to try to collect the US$ 3,000 million of the 25-year link), there is speculation about a possible change in the format of the Davis cup.
“First the ITF board has to be defined. Until that happens, there will be no discussion of what will happen to the Davis“, they anticipated from the AAT.
Days of great importance are looming for Argentine tennis, both due to the decision of the new (or old) captain as well as the convention that will determine the leadership of the governing body worldwide. All of this within the framework of the Argentine political situation, which will hold the presidential elections on October 22 and will have its effect on sport regardless of the winner. In November the rival that the albiceleste team will have in the 2024 Qualifiers will be known. A busy agenda until the end of the year; the threads are already moving.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
