Gerard Pique mocks Roger Federer over snub in Davis Cup Finals

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique and tennis legend Roger Federer have engaged in a war of words since the Swiss ace has declined to participate in the Davis Cup. Pique, who has invested heavily in the Davis Cup, has lashed out at the tennis player in an interview with a leading British media daily, by claiming that Federer perceives the revamped Davis Cup to be a threat. It bears noting that Federer's management company launched the Laver Cup in 2017 which has been a huge success and is considered as tennis' version of the hugely popular golf event, Ryder Cup.

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Gerard Pique: Roger Federer sees Davis Cup as a threat

The Davis Cup is an international team event in men’s tennis run by the International Tennis Federation. It is dubbed as the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ but has seen its popularity diminish in recent years. Gerard Pique has invested in the competition to be held in Madrid with tennis star Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal already participating in the tournament.

On the other hand, the Laver Cup is an annual biennial tournament with two teams - Team Europe and Team World participating for glory. The competition has also seen the likes of Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and some of the top players in the world take part.

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Gerard Pique vs Roger Federer: The tussle continues

Gerard Pique and Roger Federer embroiled in a war of words last month after Pique claimed that he had been in contact with Federer and his entourage over his participation in the Davis Cup. The World No.3 has openly denied Pique's claim by saying that there has been no contact with him. He reaffirmed that he wants nothing to do with the Davis Cup, which is to be held in November.

Pique said that it was easy for someone external to change something in a sport than someone internal. He said that football and Tennis were his favourite sports since childhood and the Davis Cup is the World Cup of tennis. Hence, he took the decision to invest in the competition.

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Gerard Pique has played over 320 games for Barcelona, winning the La Liga 8 times while also winning the UEFA Champions League thrice. He represented Spain 102 times, winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the Euro 2012. He retired from international football in August 2018.

Roger Federer is currently ranked No.3 in the ATP rankings. One of the greatest players to play the game, Federer has won 20 Grand Slam titles, the most by any men’s player in the Open Era. He has held the World No.1 ranking for a record 310 weeks in total.

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