International bore

Unbeknownst to all but the most hardcore tennis fans, the United States lost its Davis Cup match against Serbia on Sunday in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Americans were seeking the country’s 33rd Davis Cup title, but instead bowed out in the first round. The question is, other than the men who are part of the U.S. team, who cares?

The Davis Cup is rich in tradition, having been around for 108 years. But like most international sports competitions, it’s just not that interesting.

Tennis is at its best on the biggest stage, with the biggest stakes, i.e. Grand Slams. The same way that golf is at its best at the majors, not the Ryder Cup, and baseball’s crown jewel is the World Series, not the World Baseball Classic.

International bragging rights in these events used to be important. But there’s no way Sam Querrey would take a U.S. Davis Cup championship over winning the U.S. Open. No Major League Baseball player would place greater value a WBC title than a World Series ring.

The fact is, other than the Olympics and the World Cup, events pitting country vs. country are pretty much a waste of time. Some would argue that the Ryder Cup is in that upper echelon, but I disagree. Last year’s upset win for the U.S. was a big deal, but I don’t remember a thing about it. That’s mostly because I didn’t watch any of it, but I can recall Italy winning the 2006 World Cup, the same year France’s Zinedine Zidane head-butted an Italian player in the chest.

I can’t recall anything about the WBC, except that every year some of the best players don’t bother to participate. For some reason, they’re more concerned about playing for their professional teams. You know, the ones that pay them millions of dollars a year.

The Davis Cup does feature some top tennis players. But it doesn’t compare to Wimbledon or the French, U.S. or Australian opens.