'World Cup' proposed for tennis

New Zealand would be well served by a World Cup-style tennis tournament proposed by the ATP Player Council, Tennis New Zealand chief executive Steve Walker says.

World No 3 Novak Djokovic, a member of the players' council, along with the world's top two players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, was involved with the World Cup proposal, which had been submitted to the All England Club, the United States Tennis Association and Tennis Australia.

"It's all fresh and it's all ideas," Djokovic told media.

"We didn't decide to put anything on an official term because we have to consider other sides as well. But the main point is that we are trying to make this sport improve and get better and players are most important - this is the bottom line."

The World Cup proposal, which suggested a biennial 32-team, 10-day tournament, featuring shorter matches in which players have to watch the clock between points and including compulsory mid-match substitutions, was greeted cautiously by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

"This proposal, also shown to the ITF, has some interesting elements and, of course, timely branding, given the current worldwide fascination with the 2010 Fifa World Cup. It also has many challenges that must be faced if it is to succeed," the ITF said in a statement.

"Everyone is in agreement that a nation versus nation format is very attractive, something Davis Cup has recognised for over a century, and only time will tell if a new competition can earn a regular place in the tennis calendar."

Tennis New Zealand's Walker told NZPA he thought a World Cup was an exciting concept and had a real chance of going forward.

"If it was a bunch of unknown event managers or marketers talking about it I'd be sceptical, but if you've got Djokovic talking about it and it's backed by Federer and Nadal, it's going to gather some momentum. It's got some clout."

The proposed tournament had the potential to serve New Zealand well, he said.

"If you look where we're at in Fed Cup, we're not able to make the top 16 at the moment, and in Davis Cup, with the world group 16 countries and Asia-Oceania group one eight countries, there're 24 countries ahead of us, so I think top 32 would be a realistic aspiration for us at the moment, and a good stepping stone," Walker said.

"Depending on the format, the time of year, the cost, we would be very open-minded about it."

However, former New Zealand great Onny Parun was far from convinced by the idea, particularly if its introduction came at the expense of the Davis Cup.

"I think that's the worst scenario," Parun said.

"A lot of these small countries depending on big match wins against foreign teams in their own countries are going to lose the home court advantage."

Parun said he did not think the suggested World Cup format would be avantageous to New Zealand, even if a team made the top 32.

"What, so you're going to play Federer and co and lose your matches love and love? That's not a very good advertisement," he said.

"I don't think it's a good idea and I don't think it would benefit New Zealand."

- NZPA