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Melbourne - Andy Roddick on Wednesday urged the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to consider scaling back the Davis Cup after pulling out of the United States team duty for this year's series.
Roddick, who advanced to the third round of the Australian Open after beating Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, said he would miss the 2010 Davis Cup after nine years to avoid causing further damage to a knee he injured last year.
The future of the traditional Davis Cup team competition is under threat with players complaining about the time obligations they have to sacrifice during the season.
"We've been talking about adjustments for a long time," Roddick said.
"Bottom line is until the ITF steps up and actually says, 'You know what, this might be better for our event', until they see it that way, then it's really a moot point. It's not going to happen that way."
A revolutionary plan surfaced this month for a World Cup of tennis - 32 nations playing once every two years - which could signal the end of the 110-year-old Davis Cup.
Roddick said a streamlined Davis Cup format would offer benefits for players and fans.
"It would be a lot easier. I think I could definitely see the benefits of it as far as players and from a fan's perspective," he said.
"I think one of the reasons that the (golf's) Ryder Cup is so successful is because you have a little bit of time to build up to it and it is unique.
"But on the other side of the coin, I certainly understand that a lot of the smaller countries support their tennis federations with home (Davis Cup) ties.
"There are certainly arguments to be made either way. It's not an easy call."
Roddick said he would miss not being a part of the Davis Cup this year, with the USA taking on Serbia on clay in Belgrade in the opening round from March 5-7.
"I'll miss it, for sure. It's been a big part of my career so far. I don't know if I've shut the door on as far as forever goes," he said.
He said he made the decision to bypass the Davis Cup late last year.
"That's when my knee was still hurt. I didn't think it was smart to be switching surfaces from hard to clay to hard, time zones, and all that," he said.
"I probably wanted to do that as few times in the year as we had to. That played a big part (in the decision)."
