"When are the federations going to listen to us players?" - Alexander Zverev echoes Lleyton Hewitt's criticism of revamped Davis Cup format

World No. 7 Alexander Zverev has echoed Lleyton Hewitt's criticism of the revamped Davis Cup format.

Hewitt was the Australian Davis Cup captain for the 2023 edition, and he lambasted the new team tournament structure when his side lost in the final for the second year in a row.

It was the tournament's fourth edition since it switched from its home and away tie structure to qualifiers and week-long finals. All four editions have been held in Spain on hardcourts.

"Their hands are tied. There's no home-and-away and there's no five sets, so it's not ideal. We are playing on a surface that, yeah, I'm really sick of playing on, to be honest. That's not what Davis Cup is about. It's playing on clay, grass, outdoor elements. You know, there's a lot of different things," Hewitt said. (via Daily Express)

"Yeah, it's obviously pretty frustrating, I think, that we don't get all the different surfaces and conditions throughout Davis Cup anymore, and especially in the big matches, as well," he added.

Alexander Zverev has now taken to Instagram stories to echo Hewitt's sentiments. The German urged the sports federations to pay heed to the players' complaints and restore the original Davis Cup format.

"When [are] the sport of tennis and the federations of our sport finally going to listen to us players and even more importantly to the living legends of our sport who used to give their absolute everything for the Davis cup and what it used to stand for The Davis cup is one of the most historic events in not only tennis but sports in general Bring back the real Davis cup," Zverev wrote.

A look into Alexander Zverev's title wins in 2023

Alexander Zverev pictured at the 2023 ATP Finals

Alexander Zverev had a decent season in 2023, emerging victorious in two tournaments.

The German won his first title of the season in the Hamburg Open, defeating Laslo Djere 7-5, 6-3 in the final. His second title came in the Chengdu Open, where he beat Roman Safiullin 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-3.

Apart from that, Zverev's form in Grand Slam tournaments was a mixed bag. He reached the second round of the Australian Open and made it to the semifinals of the French Open. He then advanced to the third round of Wimbledon and had a quarterfinal finish at the US Open, a tournament where he reached the final in 2020.