After 19 years, Chandigarh to host Davis Cup tie

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – APRIL 08: Captains Leon Smith and Johan Van Herck at the end of the match between Dan Evans of Great Britain and Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium during day three of the Davis Cup match between Great Britain and Belgium at the Braehead Arena on April 8, 2012 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Chandigarh, Sep 2 – Chandigarh will witness international tennis action this month with the Davis Cup tie between India and New Zealand being held at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) grounds here Sep 14-16. The city is hosting a Davis Cup tie after a gap of 19 years.

The CLTA has started the sale of tickets for the tennis stadium and is even expecting fans of the New Zealand team to arrive at the Union Territory. The tie here, comprising five matches, will be the Asia-Oceania second round play-offs between both countries.

Despite the big names of Indian tennis – Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi – missing from action as they have not been selected for the national team by the All India Tennis Association (AITA), tennis fans here could local lad Sanam Singh in action.

“Davis Cup is coming back to Chandigarh after nearly 19 years. We are happy about it. We have reserved some seats for New Zealand fans also,” CLTA patron-in-chief and Davis Cup convenor Rajan Kashyap said here Sunday.

Chandigarh had hosted the last Davis Cup here in 1993 when India had lost to Australia.

The stadium can accommodate nearly 4,500 spectators.