Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.
‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.
It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.
That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.
Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.
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Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.
The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.
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Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.
At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.
Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”
Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.
The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.
Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.
Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?
Manchester City star Rodri warns that players are ‘close’ to going on strike over too many games
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Rodri has come out to warn that professional footballers could soon go on strike over the number of games they are now playing each year.
The Blues’ Treble and Euro 2024-winning midfielder is one of Pep Guardiola’s most heavily relied-upon squad members and has been absent for the start of the new Premier League campaign thus far, and has once again made his feelings known on the issue of fixture congestion.
Now in what is widely accepted to be the ‘prime years’ of his career, Rodri is only just back in training following an injury in the final between Spain and England back in July; his return to the press conference table saw his addressing the possibility of a potential player strike.
Speaking ahead of Man City’s opening game of this year’s Champions League competition, the 28-year-old said that the number of games in each season is simply becoming “too much”.
"You can play 40-50 games at a top level but not 60-70" 🗣️
Rodri says the increased workload for players in the current schedule is "too much" ⚽ pic.twitter.com/rie3CWKDnL
When asked by a reporter if he believes it will get to a point where players might consider going on strike, he said: “I think we are close to that. I think it’s the general opinion of the players and if it keeps [going] this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option.”
Although Rodri couldn’t give an exact number that he thinks is suitable, he estimated that “40-50” is the top limit for players to keep performing at the highest level, insisting that anything more and you inevitably drop because “it’s impossible to sustain the physical levels.”
The Spanish international, who joined City back in 2019 and has gone on to be part of the greatest period in the now record-breaking side’s history, went on to add: “We have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of us because we are the main characters in this sport, this business, whatever you want to call it.”
He also argued that not only is it a worry for players’ fitness and well-being – with the growing number of games being directly correlated to people becoming more injury-prone – but also for the overall entertainment and “the quality of the show.”
Rodri is by no means the only one either; just earlier this past February, the PFA’s (Professional Footballers’ Association) chief executive Maheta Molango said: “For us, we’ve reached a stage where it is not just about the health of the player, it is about us killing the product.” The calls are growing louder.
🚨🔴 Alisson on new Champions League format: “For the supporters, amazing. But sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games…”.
Naturally, on the other hand, many fans argue that these are professional athletes on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week and, in the case of teams such as Man City, it’s the club’s responsibility to rotate the squad and use youth players so as to manage fatigue and adequate rest.
Rodri’s right: ‘the beautiful game’ is still a business and whether or not the higher-ups see it within their best interests to stem the increasing flow of games for the sake of player welfare and/or the quality of the most televised sport in the world, the narrative isn’t going anywhere and strikes now sound more plausible than ever.
Do you agree — are professional footballers now expected to play too many games?
You can watch an extended look at his press conference and comments on fixture congestion here:
Rodri on a potential players’ strike over the bloated fixture lists.
Manchester breaks the all-time Davis Cup attendance record despite GB disappointment
Danny Jones
The 2024 Davis Cup wasn’t to be for Great Britain but Manchester and fans all over the country can still be proud that we did our bit as it has been confirmed that we set an all-time attendance record.
GB crashed out of this year’s tournament on Sunday following Dan Evans’s defeat against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, which sealed a 2-1 loss against the North American visitors and saw the home team fail to progress to the quarter-finals for the second time in three years.
Team captain Leon Smith’s side got off to a winning start in their hard-fought opener against Finland, but after the fatigued were knocked back by Argentina in the second match, it was always going to be a tough task.
Nevertheless, the crowds continued to improve throughout the week after a rallying cry from Smith and it culminated in 15,700 tickets sold for Sunday alone, meaning that a Manchester crowd bigger than Wimbledon’s Centre Court filed into the AO Arena to watch the action.
Record Breaking! 🏆🎾 A new @DavisCup record in Great Britain 🙌 15,700 attendees at the @AOArena 🥳 Thank you everyone for an incredible week of tennis! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/rfLKP6DU0T
What a way to answer the call when the national team needs you – can always count on the Mancs.
Better still, it wasn’t just the closing fixture that surpassed previous feats of attendance: a total of 37,000 sporting spectators turned up to the AO Arena over the course of the six days of play, cementing not only a new record for the arena but in the entire history of the Davis Cup.
With the legendary arena still fairly fresh from its £50m redevelopment, including new state-of-the-art facilities and additions like The Mezz, everyone in attendance was able to soak up the electrifying atmosphere.
Hosting the competition once again after the rousing success of the World Cup of Tennis’ return to Manchester for the first time in 30 years in September 2023, it didn’t disappoint and provided the perfect backdrop for creating global sporting history.
Both the athletes and the supporters inside the arena were on top form from start to finish, with an atmosphere to be very proud of.
By the final day, the atmosphere was incredible. (Credit: Supplied)
Commenting on their new personal record and impressive feat on behalf of the entire Davis Cup and LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), the AO commented: “This underscores the arena’s growing reputation as a leading, must-attend and must-play destination for major sporting events and entertainment.
“The milestone also highlights Manchester’s thriving cultural footprint on a truly global scale, and the city’s continued commitment to hosting high-calibre events with enormous success”, they continued.
“The Davis Cup is a tournament renowned for drawing significant global attention and attracting the biggest names in the sport. AO Arena’s record-breaking attendance not only enhances Manchester’s profile on the international sporting stage but is also set to attract further prestigious events to the city.”
Having already proved ourselves as a tennis-loving crowd, we sincerely hope we see the Davis Cup come back to Manchester for yet another visit very soon and GB can rest assured that we’ll be cheering them on every step of the way – we know they’ll come back stronger next time.
🌟DAVIS CUP MANCHESTER…THAT’S A WRAP!🌟
It wasn’t to be for Team GB this year, but another amazing tennis showcase in our city – with a record crowd attendance. Best of luck to all finalists.
Danny Jones -
12th September 2024 
