Tsk, tsk, ITF and LTA Duking it Out
If we put the International Tennis Federation and the Lawn Tennis Association in a ring and I was a betting woman, I would lay my life savings on the ITF to win this bout.
Apparently Roger Draper, the chief executive of the LTA, went on record with this comment: “We have enough problems sorting out British tennis without worrying about world tennis, but I think it would be good to get it sorted out. My personal view is that it would be fantastic if we could make the Davis Cup like the [football] World Cup, and stage it every two or four years at a single venue and make it a really big festival.”
No big surprise there. People have been saying that for years. However Draper used the platform of the LTA, which also happens to be the ruling tennis body for a nation that hosts one of the four Grand Slams, to promote his view.
The ITF frowned. It frowned heavily. In fact, it didn’t like Draper’s move one bit.
“I don’t know whether it was a smokescreen to divert attention from the result of the tie in Argentina, but when executives of national associations criticise a competition like the Davis Cup, they should do it in the proper forums,” Juan Margets, executive vice-president of the ITF and chairman of the Davis Cup committee, said.
I couldn’t have put it any better.
The article goes on and on, giving details about the Davis Cup and the discussions surrounding it. If you’re really that interested you can go read it yourself. I just thought two of the tennis world’s bigwigs duking it out was worthy of note.
