Farewell to The Davis Cup as we know it

Sportshour

Davis Cup – Will the new changes signal the death of the event?

Two-time winner Tomas Berdych believes so – It’s the world’s largest annual international team competition in sport. This weekend, The Davis Cup final is taking place in Lille between France and Croatia - it will be played for the final time in its current format in its 118 year history.

So why is it changing? ITF president David Haggerty explains to Caroline Barker exactly why and how they aim to keep the Davis Cup the crown jewel of the ITF.

Alena Grabowski is an Assistant Professor in INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY at the University of Colorado-Boulder. In 2008, her research helped counteract a study accepted by the International Association of Athletics’ Federations, the IAAF, which would’ve prevented Oscar Pistorius from stepping on the start line at the London Games in 2012. Ten years on, she continues to work to challenge the sport’s governing body and to establish a level playing field, as we’ve been finding out.

The Formula 3 driver Sophia Florsch needed an 11-hour operation on the fractured spine after she survived her high-speed crash at the Macau Grand Prix. This week, Caroline speaks to Paul Trafford who is the doctor of the British Tour Championship who was in Macau and we ask him, what more can be done to prevent crashes like this in Motorsport?

He was made for the big occasions – Didier Drogba is a two-time African Footballer of the Year, he’s won four Premier League titles at Chelsea and was also the key protagonist in their historic Champions League victory in 2012. The 40 year old has called time on his playing career and this week, he reflected on his career with Caroline and gave us an insight into what he may be doing in the future.

On Saturday, it’s the second leg of the final of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the Champions League. Involving Argentina’s two biggest clubs….River Plate v Boca Juniors. The first leg finished 2-all. We hear from two brothers, one supports River Plate and the other Boca.

Picture - France winning the 2017 Davis Cup champions (Credit - Getty Images)