LLEYTON HEWITT believes moving the Davis Cup to the Middle East would be “selling the soul” of the competition, he said today.

The International Tennis Federation and Gerard Pique’s Kosmos group, which effectively took over the Davis Cup with a huge investment in 2018, are reported to be preparing to announce a five-year deal to hold the finals event in Abu Dhabi.

Kosmos attracted the ire of many fans, players and captains for largely scrapping home and away ties and instead creating a World Cup-style tournament at the end of the season featuring 18 teams.

The inaugural event in 2019 took place in Madrid while this year’s finals, which began on Thursday, have group stages in the Spanish capital, Innsbruck and Turin before coming together in Madrid next weekend.

Moving to the Middle East would be lucrative, while an outdoor venue would make things logistically easier, but it would almost certainly be another step away from the partisan crowds that were the defining feature of the competition.

Speaking after Australia’s 3-0 loss to Croatia, captain Hewitt said: “I think it’s ridiculous. It’s not what Davis Cup is about. I have been pretty vocal about the whole thing for the last three or four years now.

“Some of my greatest memories are playing in Davis Cup, semis and finals in front of packed houses.

“The atmosphere was incredible. Sometimes the away ties were nearly as special because you had to find a way to be able to gel together as a team.

“Davis Cup was held in the highest regard because it was up there with the pinnacle of our sport in men’s tennis, which was five sets.

“We threw that out the door, and now we are throwing the home and away out the door, as well.

“So, if they are going and selling the soul of the Davis Cup to the Middle East for another five years, I think it’s ridiculous, and they are really killing the competition.”