Tennis With An Accent: Mark Woodforde Talks ATP Finals, Zverev, & More

Australian doubles legend and tennis analyst Mark Woodforde returns to the Tennis With An Accent Podcast. Mark talks to Saqib Ali about numerous topics in a wide-ranging conversation.

The discussion begins with an evaluation of London as the site for the ATP Finals. Woodforde speaks from the perspective of a world-class doubles player by emphasizing the prominence of doubles in the current London setup. He integrates doubles into the evolving debate about whether the ATP Finals should change sites. Woodforde also spends time discussing conflicts of interest in tennis and the ways tournaments relate to players. Woodforde explains the importance of tournaments and tournament directors maintaining open lines of communication with players.

A second central segment of this conversation deals with Sascha Zverev and his comments that the tennis season is too long. Saqib asks Mark about Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s response to Zverev. Is tennis placing too much of a burden on players, or is it up to the player to manage his schedule? Can both sides of this argument be correct at the same time?

The third and most expansive segment of the show is Woodforde’s assessment of the new Davis Cup format for 2019 and 2020. Woodforde explains why the home-and-away format of traditional Davis Cup, which ends this year, is not welcomed or valued by a lot of tennis nations. Woodforde delves into an overview of tennis economics in which some nations lack the same resources others have, which influences why one neutral-site tournament makes a lot of nations happy, as opposed to the home-and-away format in which certain nations have to host Davis Cup ties.

Woodforde also discusses when — and where — the Davis Cup might find a new spot on the calendar. He offers numerous details which underline why the ATP has more influence relative to the ITF than many outsiders might initially realize.

All these details and much more are part of a rich conversation — perfect for the week of the last traditional Davis Cup Final between France and Croatia.

Reminder: The Tennis With An Accent Podcast will continue into and through the full tennis offseason, with shows every single week.

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Music provided by Teknoaxe and used under the terms of CC (Creative Commons) 4.0 license.