Serbian tennis ace and 16-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has criticized the Canadian men’s tennis team for handing the USA a doubles walkover in the Davis Cup group stage.
The Canadian squad claimed two wins against their American rivals, guaranteeing their participation in the playoffs.
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But they then pulled out of their doubles match – which would have not affected their group standings – gifting a 6-0, 6-0 win to the USA.
The move was widely condemned by fans and some stars, including Djokovic, as according to Davis Cup rules the two best second-placed teams from the six groups will still advance to the quarterfinals, with sets and games won being taken into account.
"I personally don't like that. I mean, that shouldn't be allowed, to be honest. I understand that Canada is through already, they won both of their ties," Djokovic said.
"Maybe some of the players like Felix, I think he's injured, and they wanted to rest their players for the quarterfinals and onwards. But I just feel it's not fair that the USA gets 6-0 6-0 because they are going actually head-to-head now against Italy,” he added.
The newly-established Davis Cup format divides 18 teams into six groups, with the group winners and two best-placed runners-up qualifying for the quarterfinals.