|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE | |
Natural look Australia wants to play Davis Cup final on grass
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Tennis Australia is awaiting approval from the International Tennis Federation for a transportable grass court to be used to host the Nov. 30-Dec. 2 Davis Cup final against France. Australian officials want to import the grass court and place it over the Rebound Ace surface on center court at Melbourne Park, regular venue for the Australian Open. ITF officials were scheduled to inspect the court, being prepared at Seymour, north of Melbourne, this week. The Australians were proposing to use the grass court during last weekend's semifinal against Sweden at Sydney, but it was ruled out due to problems associated with growing grass during winter. Australia defeated the Swedes 4-1 on Rebound Ace at the Sydney International Tennis Center, but captain John Fitzgerald and leading players Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter said they'd prefer to face the French on either grass or hard court. Australia beat France on clay at Nice to win the 1999 Davis Cup and, because the nations haven't met since, Australia has the right to choose the venue and the surface. France advanced to the decider, the second in three years against Australia, with a 3-2 win against the Netherlands at Rotterdam. "One of the hurdles for us is ITF approval for the use of a transportable grass court for a final," Tennis Australia spokesman John Lindsay said Thursday. He said that Fitzgerald and Davis Cup coach Wally Masur had tested the transportable grass court and were impressed. The court is made up of 150 sections of turf grown on sandy loam and fit into a metal base. The technology "has been used with cricket wickets and was installed in Germany for a grass court tournament and was a success," Lindsay said. Australia, runner-up to Spain last year, has won 27 Davis Cup titles. It last hosted a final at home in 1986, when Fitzgerald helped the Australians to a win against Sweden on a grass court at Kooyong. Australians haven't performed well on Rebound Ace, whereas Hewitt won the U.S. Open earlier this month on a hard court at New York and Rafter has made back-to-back Wimbledon finals on grass. French players excelled on the Rebound Ace at Melbourne in January, with Arnaud Clement reaching the Australian Open final before losing to Andre Agassi. Clement beat Sebastien Grosjean in an all-French semifinal. Rafter lost to Agassi in the semis. He was the first Australian to make it to the final four in the season-opening Grand Slam since 1986.
| |||||||||||||||||||
