The Davis Cup final between Serbia and Czech Republic begins in Belgrade today with the teams contesting what should be one of the most sought-after titles in tennis.

The Davis Cup has many attributes: it is a rare opportunity for tennis players to play as part a team rather than as an individual and, for a country, to be considered the best men's tennis nation in the world should attract considerable kudos.

Make no mistake, both Serbia and Czech Republic will fight ferociously for the title this weekend. Serbia are favourites - with home advantage and Novak Djokovic spearheading their team, they should win - but Czech Republic are the holders and have Tomas Berdych, the world No.6, in their ranks.

To me, though, there is an enduring feeling that tennis is missing a trick with this competition. The final, which comes at the end of a long and arduous season for the top players and less than a week after the conclusion of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, appears to be something of an afterthought. Most of the top players will have packed away their rackets and settled into a couple of week's rest prior to beginning their pre-season training while Djokovic, Berdych et al will be slugging it out in Belgrade.

The interest generated by the Davis Cup is considerably less than that around the grand slam tournaments. British tennis fans, in particular, are notoriously parochial and GB's disappointing Davis Cup performances in recent years, with the exception of this season, has done little to whet our national appetite for the event.

Yet the major factor in devaluing the competition globally is the apparent reluctance of the leading players to turn out regularly for their countries. Djokovic and Rafa Nadal both have a consistent record in terms of playing in the Davis Cup but Andy Murray's appearance for Great Britain in September was his first in the competition in two years. Roger Federer has made even fewer appearances to aid Switzerland's cause, despite a Davis Cup win being one of the few accomplishments missing from his cv.

The Davis Cup must, at all costs, resist going downhill in the same way that the Fed Cup, the women's equivalent, has careered off course in recent years. Earlier this month, Italy beat Russia 4-0 in the Fed Cup final. Russia fielded a team which boasted none of their top 11 players - Alexandra Panova, at No.136 in the rankings, was their highest-ranked player in the final. This dismissive attitude from the leading Russian players makes a complete mockery of the event.

Interestingly, Murray suggested prior to Britain's match with Croatia in September that it should be obligatory to play in the Davis Cup. "We don't have much flexibility in our schedule, and that's why I don't understand why they don't make Davis Cup a mandatory event. They should make it mandatory so it isn't up for discussion," he said.

Making the competition compulsory would certainly increase the participation levels of the top players, but the current format is not conducive to encouraging the top players to turn out. Djokovic, in particular, is hugely patriotic and appears to make the Davis Cup almost as much of a priority as he does the grand slam tournaments, but there are factors which evidently act as a major disincentive to playing Davis Cup for many of the top players.

First, scheduling is all over the place. The World Group matches are played in February, April, September and November, thus meaning that there is next to no continuity within the competition. This sort of sporadic scheduling severely impedes momentum being created in the public's excitement around the event, particularly if one's own nation is no longer involved.

Second, as the host country has the privilege of choosing the surface on which the tie will be played, it often results in an untimely switch of surface for players. Murray has long encountered physical challenges when playing on clay, particularly when adapting from hard courts, so, if GB are drawn away, and it's on clay, then it is understandable that playing can be viewed as an inconvenience rather than an honour.

One possible solution would be to change it into a World Cup-style, two-week event. Make it biennial, take it to different locations around the globe and play it from start to finish inside a fortnight. The calendar would have to be reshuffled, admittedly, but a revamp could breathe new life into the Davis Cup and transform its image as one of tennis' top events.

The final this weekend will be riveting, nevertheless, particularly as the Serbian players and fans are ferociously patriotic. A shake-up of the current format could work wonders for the tournament.