Davis Cup: Melzer Kobeck succeeds as ÖTV captain

As an active player, Melzer is the Austrian record holder with 38 games and 78 Davis Cup appearances. “It’s just his competition. No one else in this country embodies and lives the Davis Cup so often. So we hope he will pass that spirit on to the team,” said ÖTV President Magnus Brunner. He also thanked the new Austrian Finance Minister Kubik for “always doing his job as a leader of full commitment and passion”.

Melzer emphasized that the Davis Cup had always been a matter of interest to him. “There is nothing greater than representing your country. Now that I can no longer do it as a player, it is a great honor to lead the team as captain. The 40-year-old from Lower Austria, who finally ended his active career this year, said: “I am sure My enthusiasm for this competition will create a positive atmosphere.”

The new captain is happy that Kubik wants to stay with the team. “With his experience, we will be able to achieve a lot together,” Melzer said. Koubek took charge of the ÖTV team from Clemens Trimmel in 2015. The most recent event was a debut in the final, where they lost to Serbia and Germany in Innsbruck in November without Tim.

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Qualification was made possible thanks to the success against Uruguay in March 2020, which was also guaranteed without Thiem. With the character on board, they defeated Australia, among others, at Graz in 2018, thus playing a role in the world group. “While I know it will be over one day, it’s a shame for me, especially after the Davis Cup without an audience in Innsbruck,” Kubic said. According to his own statements, the outgoing captain is happy to be able “to put in a great effort once again as the team’s co-head coach after a small gap”.

ÖTV Vice President George Blumauer confirmed that Kubic “did an excellent job as a Davis Cup captain”. The appointment of Jürgen Melzer as captain is “the logical consequence of his function as the person responsible for all sporting matters at ÖTV”. The former ranked eighth in the world occupies this position since the beginning of this year. Blumauer: “ÖTV is in a fortunate position to further the development of tennis with some of the best players in the country.”