Spain officially introduces former No. 1 Carlos Moya as its Davis Cup captain. Moya, who led the team to the 2004 title as a player, said that getting top players to commit to playing is of primary importance.
Spain will travel to Germany the week after the conclusion of the 2014 Australian Open, and three of the top Spaniards -- Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, and Fernando Verdasco -- have historically done well in Melbourne, which makes for a tough turnaround.
“I know that history has shown the top 10 players tend to miss the opening rounds,” he told reporters. “My work is with them because there are players who have won everything and are very important. My mission will be to pitch in, but I’ve been a player and understand every position. Everyone wants to win and we know that the hardest part is leaving someone out. We’re talking about a 10 or 12 players that are left out and that's hard to swallow. It’s not easy but if you have dialogue, you reason and explain your decisions they are mature and intelligent players.”
Moya, who recently announced that his wife Carolina Cerezuela is pregnant with their third child, said it was his call only to sign a one-year contract.
“My decision was a year because things must be earned,” he said. “The important thing is to know how the players feel and if they are unhappy each in their way, or there isn’t compromise or things are confusing. If all goes well and I am happy and the players are as well, then we’ll see [about the future].”