Davis Cup controversy

Pakistan’s Davis Cup tie against New Zealand ended on a controversial note on April 6 when the referee awarded the tie to the latter due to what were termed “unplayable conditions” of the court, with the ruling being that Pakistan — being the hosts — were unable to meet the specified standards. A win would have moved Pakistan a step closer to promotion to Group I.

While the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) was denied permission to organise the tie at home due to security issues, it managed to arrange the fixture in Myanmar. With tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi bolstered by a Miami Masters doubles trophy in the bag, victory was a realistic possibility, if not a guarantee. But as fate would have it, Pakistan ended on the losing side despite leading the tie 1-0. Thereafter, an appeal was lodged with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as the Pakistan authorities quickly adopted a blame-game approach, ignoring the possibility that the fault may have lied with them in making the specified arrangements. Their response, which included accusing the referee of bias, was, however, understandable as a hefty Rs4 million were spent on booking the venue and making all the arrangements.

The referee needs to be asked a few questions. If the court’s conditions were really that bad, players should not have been allowed to practise on it before the tie began and the referee should have taken appropriate action at that time. Not only did players practise on the court, almost two matches were completed before the referee decided to stop play. The ITF said that “conditions deteriorated” during the course of play. If that was the case, did the referee consider the possibility of postponing play and allowing the hosts to rectify the fault with the court? Was it necessary to abruptly stop play and award the tie to the visitors? While the ITF will be reviewing the appeal, little good is expected to come off it since New Zealand will be quick to argue that the referee’s decision must be considered final.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2013.