Davis Cup semifinals not generating enough buzz

Today’s New York Times has an interesting (or … maybe whining) article on why Davis Cup semifinals end up in a back seat.

…The matches that matter most at this late stage of the season are supposed to be the semifinals: the United States versus Sweden in Gothenburg and Russia versus Germany in Moscow. But the matches with the bigger buzz, larger crowds and more intriguing lineups are actually being played in Belgrade and Prague.

…It is a quirk of the Davis Cup’s oft-debated structure that this long weekend is also the long weekend of the World Group playoffs, eight matches that will determine the makeup of next season’s 16-team first division. It so happens that the two leading men at the moment, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, are involved in the playoffs, not the semifinals. It also happens that Tim Henman has chosen to say farewell to the men’s Tour in the playoff at the All England Club between Britain and Croatia.

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The full article is here.