The ITF is getting a lot of flak from tennis star Lleyton Hewitt who is criticizing the way the organization is treating the Australian team for refusing to travel to India for the Davis Cup series after citing security reasons. Although the Indian city of Chennai has been cleared for the event by security consultants, the Australian team appealed for a change in venue despite the fact, an appeal that was later denied by the ITF. As a result, the Australian team skipped the event. They were fined $10,000 and lost the hosting rights of their next home match, all short of being suspended from other events.
Hewitt agreed with the Australian team’s decision to play it safe, saying, “I’ve been … going after Davis Cup as much as anyone in the last 10 years and put Davis Cup first. The way the ITF went about this was very ordinary.”
Hewitt expressed his sentiments of the ITF’s handling of the matter, saying that the move was a ‘disgrace’ and that the way went about handling the whole issue was ‘very ordinary.’
Prior to the ITF’s penalization of the team, the Australian team had cited their disappointment over the ITF’s decision to hold the Davis Cup in India, saying that the decision was irresponsible.
‘It is just irresponsible. Surely some thought must be given to the players’ safety, said the team’s Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald.