BARCELONA - Gerard Pique has set up the intriguing possibility of locking horns with Roger Federer over the rival tennis team events that they are involved in promoting.
The Barcelona football star, whose company Kosmos has won the rights to organise the new Davis Cup format, has revealed that he wants to hold the 18-team finals jamboree in September rather than November.
That could mean a potential clash from 2019 onwards with the Laver Cup, the Europe v Rest of the World exhibition event primarily run by Federer and his Team8 management group.
Earlier this month, a controversial vote among International Tennis Federation countries saw Kosmos allowed to change the Davis Cup to a system featuring a finals week, with Madrid favourite to be the initial host. The original proposed date was late November but as this is in the middle of an already brief off-season many players have indicated they want it brought forward.
Pique told France’s Le Figaro: "After talking with most of the players, most prefer the Davis Cup to take place in September. I want to set up a competition in accordance with what they want."
Yet Federer and his team announced last week that the 2019 edition of the Laver Cup will take place from September 20-22 in Geneva. On Friday Federer was guarded, saying: "I think we’ve still got a long way to go until we got all the facts on the table from the ITF, what their exact thoughts are about the Davis Cup. I’m only hearing rumours, nothing has really been set in stone yet."
The ‘home court advantage’ will hold special meaning for @RogerFederer when #Geneva hosts #LaverCup2019. pic.twitter.com/IzkvVT3t5I
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) August 24, 2018