Pique confident Nadal will play in 2019 Davis Cup

Barcelona, October 18: Gerard Pique is confident Rafael Nadal will play in the revamped Davis Cup next year and says he has "not closed any doors" on Roger Federer being involved.

The Barcelona and Spain defender is the president and founder of Kosmos, the company promoting the new format to the competition.

Under the much-changed structure for 2019, an 18-team event will be condensed into one week in November, featuring six groups of three, with the pool winners and two best runners-up advancing to a knockout phase.

Rather than ties consisting of four singles and one doubles match, played over five sets, the truncated version will see only three-set affairs, each tie comprising two singles and one doubles contest.

November is traditionally the month when top players begin their time off at the end of the season, while the ATP World Team Cup is expected to take place in Australia early in 2020.

However, Pique remains confident that the sport's biggest names - Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic - will feature.

"I have spoken with all those players," he told a media conference.

"With Rafa [Nadal] it is very positive. If he does not have an injury, he will be there. Rafa is very positive about this event, especially because it is taking place in Madrid.

"If the number one in the world is playing, that's more than enough.

"On Novak [Djokovic], if he has to choose between the two, he says he will play the ATP tournament. I took the opportunity to talk to him because he represents the players and the meeting was very positive. I am confident we can reach an agreement.

"Federer is at a point in his career in which he prioritises the most important tournaments. I have talked with his people and I have not closed any doors."