The Int'l Tennis Federation has "rejected Pakistan's appeal against the awarding of its Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group II tie to New Zealand," according to Amlan Chakraborty of REUTERS. Designated host Pakistan was disqualified from last month's Davis Cup tie and played in Myanmar because of security concerns after referee Ashita Ajigala ruled that the grass court in Yangon "had become unplayable and dangerous." The Pakistan Tennis Federation "appealed against the ruling," but the ITF's Davis Cup Committee upheld the Sri Lankan referee's decision at a meeting on Tuesday. The ITF said in a statement, "It was the view of the Committee that the Pakistan Tennis Federation did not organize the tie to the required standards, notably with regard to the quality of the two available courts" (REUTERS, 5/1).
ITF SEEKING NEW VENUE: The PHNOM PENH POST's H.S. Manjunath reported the ITF is aiming at September dates for Asia Oceania Group III and IV Davis Cup events. The ITF is, however, "open to the idea" of a prospective host willingly organizing them much earlier. The ITF is still on the lookout "for an alternate venue and at this stage it is not clear whether both the events will be held the same week at the same place." In terms of rescheduling, the ITF will "work to find dates that are as player-friendly as possible and will take into account the professional calendar and other events marked in the region" (PHNOM PENH POST, 5/1).
