How important in the modern game is the Davis Cup?

Question

Do people really care?
Do tennis players take pride in playing for their country like in rugby?

Answer 1

There are certainly some that do - don't tell Spain the Davis Cup doesn't matter. But there are also those like Roger Federer who don't play much Davis Cup tennis to focus on their individual tennis exploits. Even Andy Roddick, who has played his share of Davis Cup tennis, has this year opted out of it to preserve his knee in the hope of winning another elusive Grand Slam title.

The Davis Cup is a rare chance for tennis players to put their country first, and when you see the likes of world No. 2 Novak Djokovic playing for Serbia and know that Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro would have been among their repsective teams barring injury, then yes, there's still plenty of importance attached to playing Davis Cup tennis.