It was what I am imagine journalists covering a Papal election would feel when the white smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel. 

Conclave had seemingly broken a while before judging from the clinking of coffee mugs below, as the votes were tallied.

Eventually the result came, and it came swiftly. David Haggerty won with 60 per cent of the 428 valid votes cast in the election.

A second term assured from the American.

"It was about what I expected," Haggerty told me afterwards, after seeing off the challenge of three contenders.

It was what most people gathered at the Epic Sana Hotel expected too, I suspect.

In a twist to the usual protocol with International Federations, the ballots were cast the day after each of the candidates had presented to the Member Associations present. Understandably this led to a lot of lobby talk afterwards.

The presentations were a positive for Haggerty. There were complaints, notable from the aggressive campaign run by Ireland’s Dave Miley that the presentations had been shortened from 30 to 10 minutes from the 2015 election, a move favouring the incumbent.

Some voters afterwards opined that Haggerty had done well.

"He gives you the impression he is your President and can ride through a storm if it comes," a delegate said, referencing the potential battles to come with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

Another gave the view that he had "learned to be the President" and gave a calm demeanour, which was claimed to be a big asset for the role.

By contrast, Miley was viewed as perhaps too vocal and lacking the political savvy. A view possibly enhanced by showing his telling off from the ITF Ethics Commission over comments he had made to a newspaper.

While Miley certainly needed to come out swinging as he was facing an uphill battle to unseat an incumbent in Haggerty, I suspect this may have impacted on him, with some delegates potentially viewing him as confrontational.

There is no doubt he added to the election, a rare contested one in world governing bodies of late, with India’s Anil Khanna and the Czech Republic’s Ivo Kadrenka having barely uttered a word publicly during the campaign.

The challenge ahead seems clear, given that all four candidates effectively produced the same manifestos.

A potential splitting of the ITF Presidential role. Check. Boost development funding for nations. Check.

Increase the prestige of the Davis Cup, reform the Fed Cup and bolster relationships with the professional tours.

Check. Check. Check.

Given the similarities in what the candidates were broadly saying, keeping the same pair of hands steering the organisation not too surprising.

"I think it is a reconfirmation of the changes we made last year to the Davis Cup and the support for that, which will all want to see be successful," Haggerty said afterwards. "Nations like the changes to funding and distribution, as well as the Fed Cup we announced earlier in the year which was approved.

"I think nations wanted to see some stability, as it is easier for the person who wants to make the change to carry out the change. As they will then hold me accountable, as they should, against delivering what I promised."

Accountability was something the Lawn Tennis Association said they would hold the ITF President too, with the organisation giving Haggerty a bizarre statement of support which saw them express they were "deeply concerned about the governance of the sport".

The LTA were among the organisation opposed to the changes to the Davis Cup last year. Next month’s finals will probably need to prove the revamp can bring in the resources promised, in addition to the event being delivered successful.

It comes particularly with the Laver Cup and ATP Cup competitions emerging onto the calendar, with both seen as rivals to more established event.

The ITF’s handling of the World Tennis Tour also prompted significant criticism of the organisation earlier this year from players.

Smoothing over relations with the ATP, who appear in a state of flux, will be another key point on Haggerty’s to do list.

"The ATP are going through the definition of their leadership as well," Haggerty said. "I think when that is defined, we will be able to continue the conversations we have had, and we do.

"I think what we need to do is deliver a great Davis Cup, which we will do, and there will be the ATP Cup in January and I am sure they will do the best to deliver that.

"Afterwards is probably the best time to talk to each other about what we are doing, then decided what makes sense for tennis. We want to be open, collaborative and make sure we do the best we can for the sport."

The ITF, potentially, could be viewed as the guinea pigs regarding International Federations given the splits in the past which have led to them either working with or buffeting heads with the professional tours.

Haggerty claimed the ITF were a "good example of a Federation working with third parties and being creative with new events", with the American bringing up the Association of Summer Olympic Federation’s "Future of Global Sport" report published earlier this year.

His claim is certainly a point for debate. But the example of the ITF’s relationship with the professional tours could be one other sports have to tap into in the future.

Haggerty said his own organisation would have learn from other International Federations to continue moving forwards.

"We also look at other sports and what the Olympics does," he said. "We can learn so much from our fellow sports.

"I think our reference can’t just be tennis and what we know, but it also has to be other sports, esports and continue to transform and remain ahead of the future as it unfolds.

"Development sits at the core of our mission and we have about 87 million players worldwide and we are launching the world tennis number, which will give a common platform for all the nations and players to have a reference.

"We think that will be important for the sport, as we can give the nations tools to use to help grow participate.

"We would love to have 120 million players by 2030. The ITF really is the only organisation that invests, and we have to help young players get on that career pathway.

"That is why the tournaments we run around the world are so important and the World Tennis Tour is an integral part of that."

The ITF, while promoting their development efforts, released figures this week in a report about the participation levels in the sport.

A total of 87 million players, representing 1.17 per cent of the global population, were claimed to participate in the sport. The figure was consisted of 53-47 split between male and female players, with around 71,000 tennis clubs and 489,000 courts used worldwide.

It has been claimed this report will help to guide the ITF when undertaking future initiatives, helping them to achieve this goal of having 120 million players in 11 years’ time.

Perhaps this was the reason some delegates attending could be heard grumbling about the ATP and Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 

"They should pay in more, after all they use our actors," said one. 

"Grand Slams should pay something towards the nations whose players qualify for their tournaments," said another.

It is difficult to have much sympathy with these complaints, while the ITF locked themselves into conclave.

While they can talk about their development efforts themselves, the ITF would have been better suited to broadcasting their ideas to the world. Given that a live stream for the election result was viewed as a massive step forward, the organisation have work to do. International Federations do, largely, seem to reform and modernise at a glacial pace compared to private entities.

Sure, your efforts to develop the youth and lower levels of the game are vital, but most people on the streets would be unable to identify the role of the ITF, whereas they would know the ATP and WTA.

The ITF Presidential election campaign gave the governing body some rare headlines, but the organisation needs to open up further in future for its own good.