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Cape Town - South African tennis ace, Kevin Anderson, has expressed his disappointment at Tennis SA after an inaccurate press release sent out last week.
TSA last week sent out a press release stating that Anderson would make himself available for Davis Cup action if they could find a suitable sponsor to pay his expenses.
TSA was keen to include Anderson in the line-up for the crucial upcoming tie against Ireland at Pretoria’s Irene Country Club from July 17 to 19, but was unable to cover the costs that Anderson reportedly requested to play.
“We have until 10 days before the tie to name our team to play Ireland according to Davis Cup rules and are doing all we can to secure a sponsor for Kevin to secure him as part of the team, ” Gavin Crookes, President and acting CEO of TSA said via a press release.
Anderson tough said the press release was inaccurate and he has now made himself unavailable for Davis Cup action for the foreseeable future.
Anderson expressed his dissatisfaction via a column on the supersport.com website.
He wrote: “I feel bitterly disappointed and let down by Tennis South Africa, who issued a press release last Monday that was a very inaccurate portrayal of my stance on Davis Cup competition. In reality, TSA called my team early last week to report they had found a company willing to pay me a sum of money to play the Davis Cup.
“Out of respect, we said of course we could consider the offer and sent the following reply: ‘He (Kevin) very much appreciates the expression of interest but is conscious of managing expectations and doesn't want to let anyone down if the scheduling and calendar does not co-operate.
“Moreover, at the same time, I was asked by TSA to participate in a conference call with the South African press on the Tuesday - which I was told was to congratulate me on reaching the final of Queens and achieving a career-high ranking. However, when I got on the phone, the majority of the questions were about a TSA press release that had come out a few hours earlier, and which I had not seen at the time. Firstly, the release was incorrect and secondly, even if it had been accurate, it was a breach of confidence.
“As a result of ongoing speculation, I have decided to offer some closure in this blog post.
“I have tried to evaluate each Davis Cup, tie by tie, and the reasons I haven’t played since 2011 have been addressed multiple times before on kevinandersontennis.blogspot.com.
“After further examination of the current situation (and others) I have decided that I will be indefinitely unavailable for Davis Cup selection moving forward. My hope is to finally put an end to the constant hearsay that has surrounded my participation in Davis Cup.
“The unfortunate reality is that the current scheduling and format of the Davis Cup would require me to make major sacrifices in the way of travel, training, rehabilitation and preparation for major tournaments, like Wimbledon. Ultimately, such a sacrifice would compromise my results and any hope of competitive representation for South Africa at Grand Slam tournaments.”
Anderson, 29, is currently at his highest ever world ranking of 14. He is currently competing at the year's third Grand Slam, Wimbledon, which started on Monday.
