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Plan B: A tennis world cup

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Although the "alphabet wars" that plagued the first two decades (the 1970s and 80s) are over, the lack of a central governing body still allows for a skirmish or two. And a pretty significant one is forming on the horizon, now that two veterans of tennis' political wars -- and founding fathers of the pro game -- are bent on creating an event that would be a direct competitor to the ITF's Davis Cup competition.

This new, nations-based team competition doesn't really have a working name yet, but it does have the approval of the ATP and WTA and leadership provided by one of the most respected men in all of tennis -- Butch Buchholz.

A former Davis Cup competitor himself, Buchholz is now best-known as the creator and promoter of the combined event played at Key Biscayne (arguably, the fifth-most prestigious tournament in the game, after the four Grand Slam events). His gravitas, credibility, popularity with the players and entrepreneurial savvy could get this deal done.

The idea, though, belongs to Mike Davies, formerly a top executive with Lamar Hunt's original World Championship Tennis league -- a highly successful enterprise supported by all the top players of the time (including Buchholz, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe and others). In essence, this "World Cup of Tennis" would be played every other year, in about a two-week span; it would feature both men and women (probably in a seven-match-per-tie format) and conclude with a "final four" semifinal and final hosted by the defending champion.

When I spoke with Buchholz on Wednesday about these emerging plans, he said, "The ITF rejected this plan several years ago, but we believe in it. More important, the players like it -- the reception in the locker room has been very positive. And we think television will really like it, because it will give them a much more viable and varied product."

The response from the ITF has been frosty. In a telephone conversation Thursday, ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti admitted that he'd discussed the plan with Davies six years ago and said the ITF wrote a follow-up letter urging Davies and company to keep in touch. "That was all of our communication. We never heard again. We [the ITF] are open and listen to everybody. Conditions were not right then. Now maybe it's different."

Davies and Buchholz are unlikely to rise to this bait; they'll probably proceed with their plans independently. For they know that certain elements of the Davis Cup format, alternating choice-of-site and annual competition among them, are non-negotiable. Reformers who have tried to tamper with them have always been shot down. "We're not mad at the ITF or anything," Buchholz said. "It's just that they don't want to change, and we think Davis Cup would benefit from change."

I'm torn on this one. I like the alternating choice-of-ground for the final. It's always been a playing-field leveler for nations that punch above their weight (provided it's their turn to host when they reach the final), and it's added to the mystique and lore of Davis Cup.

But a "final four" -- coming after qualifying or world group rounds are played under the alternating-choice mandate (the Davies plan provides for that) -- could certainly prove to be a compelling compromise. And the streamlined format and final four certainly would help solve Davis Cup's greatest current shortcoming: intermittent participation by the top players. Davis Cup also would benefit if it were played in a concentrated period with a clear beginning, middle and end. Right now, it's a rolling, annual and above all confusing (for the average sports fan) vestige of the past.

Davis and company still have a long way to go (although their target date is 2013 and almost certainly in the fall), but once again I detect odor of smoke rising from a tennis battlefield.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com

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