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| July 28, 2006 | Friday | Rajab 1, 1427 |
Hewitt wary of Argentine tie
MELBOURNE, July 27: Lleyton Hewitt has yet to commit to play in Australia's Davis Cup tie in Argentina in September amid security fears, Tennis Australia (TA) said here Thursday.
The former Wimbledon and US Open champion has told TA he will not play in the September 22-24 semi-final in Buenos Aires unless he is satisfied with arrangements for the team's protection.
Hewitt has a history of on-court confrontations with Argentinian players and is regarded as one of the most hated international sportsmen by readers of an Argentine newspaper.
TA chief executive Steve Wood said Hewitt had not yet agreed to join the team but said he would review the security arrangements and make a decision closer to the date.
For the first time TA has hired what Wood termed “security specialists” to travel and stay with the team during the tie.
“Security's of paramount importance to Tennis Australia for all of our players so we've got a plan in place and we're working through that with Lleyton now,” Wood told reporters Thursday.
“I think he's looking over that plan and just considering what he's doing.
“We really are focused on making sure that we've got the best environment available.
“We've got a plan in place in conjunction with the ITF (world tennis body) and the Argentinian tennis federation and ourselves to deliver the security that makes all the players comfortable.”Wood said the decision to place security guards with the team was a result of “the assessment of the conditions that surround this match”.
“It's a very patriotic environment, we've had a lot of success in those environments in the past in Australia and we just thought that this would be an additional comfort for the players,” Wood said. I think all of the players are interested in their security and safety and they're happy with the progress that we've made on our security plan and the investments we are making to assist them.
“All the players have been consulted in terms of what the environment's like in Argentina.”—AFP
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