Madrid to host new-format Davis Cup in 2019 and 2020

Madrid has been chosen to host the first two new-format Davis Cup finals in 2019 and 2020, the organisers of the venerable men's team tennis event said Thursday.

Under a format proposed by the Kosmos group, headed by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, and adopted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in August, the competition will bring together 18 nations in one place for a week at the end of the tennis season.

"We are delighted to be bringing the 2019 Davis Cup... finals to Madrid," ITF president David Haggerty said in a statement.

"The city is a fitting location to stage the highest quality tennis and great entertainment for thousands of fans from all over the world," he added.

The revamped finals are scheduled to take place at La Caja Magica, the current venue for the Madrid Open, in 2019.

For 2020 organisers still must decide between holding the event either at the same location or at the WiZink Center.

Kosmos, an investment group led by Pique with Japanese and Chinese ...