ITF changesDavis Cup date decision

ISLAMABAD: Following careful monitoring of the Covid-19 situation around the world, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Davis Cup Committee has revisited its June decision, allowing the competing countries to pick March or September 2021 dates for the next ties.

Earlier the Davis Cup was postponed until September 2021.

Pakistan Tennis Federation’s (PTF) Executive Vice President Khawar Hayat told ‘The News’ that the federation has been communicated by the ITF about the decision.

“The ITF has revisited its previous decision to take the next Davis Cup tie to September 2021. Following a series of meetings, the ITF has allowed the competing countries to select the month of March or September 2021 for the event. It is now up to the host country to decide as which dates are suited best to its requirements,” he said.

It has also been communicated by the ITF committee that the host country must hold an outdoor Davis Cup tie. “That is now a requirement. The ITF has communicated that the tie must be organised outdoor and if some nations don’t have these arrangements, they must try to manage it till September 2021.”

Pakistan and Japan Davis Cup World Group qualifying tie was scheduled to be held in Islamabad on September 18-19, 2020 which now will be held next year.

When questioned as to when Pakistan will host Japan, Khawar said that the decision will be taken at the arrival of PTF President Salim Saifullah Khan who is out of the country.

“We would not make any haste and decision will be taken at the arrival of PTF president. Like other countries, we have also been given the option to hold the tie in March or September. Luckily we have all the required outdoor facilities available. The fact of the matter is that we always hosted the competition outdoor which under the prevailing situation now is a requirement.”

The ITF in its communique has suggested holding the contest in the first week of March or from the second week of September. Another instruction given to the member countries is to hold the tie matches on Friday and Saturday, along with Sunday for any contingency plan like the weather.

“The month of March and September suit us. It is up to the PTF think-tank to decide as which month is best,” he said.

Pakistan defeated Slovenia 3-0 earlier this year to make it to the final against Japan in Islamabad. The winner of the tie will go on to play the World Group at the completion of this round.