Tennis Australia announced extra security yesterday for its team contesting the Davis Cup semi-final in Buenos Aires after Lleyton Hewitt threatened to boycott the tie, saying he feared for his safety.
Former world No. 1 Hewitt is reviled in Argentina after a series of clashes with players from the South American country and told Sydney's Daily Telegraph he was apprehensive about the Sept. 22-24 tie.
"The biggest concern is my safety," he said.
"The situation has got steadily worse for visiting teams and it takes only one wacko over there to turn things on its head. I've got my family to think about and there are issues around the security situation," Hewitt said.
The bad blood between Hewitt and the Argentines began at last year's Australian Open when Juan Ignacio Chela took exception to the Australian's histrionics and spat at him as they changed ends in their third round match, picking up a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It continued later last year when Hewitt and Guillermo Coria traded insults and accused each other of bad sportsmanship after an ill-tempered Davis Cup singles rubber in Sydney.
After Australia won through to the semi-final in Buenos Aires, Davis Cup veteran Wayne Arthurs joked that Hewitt was a wanted man in Argentina and "they'll be throwing more than the kitchen sink at him".
But Tennis Australia spokesman John Lindsay said his organisation was taking the issue seriously and doing everything it could to ensure a safe environment for the players.
Jeremy Bates resigned as Great Britain's Davis Cup captain on Monday after the team's dismal home defeat to Israel in Eastbourne at the weekend.
Bates will continue as the Lawn Tennis Association's interim head of performance despite handing in his resignation on Monday afternoon.
The former British number one player had been widely expected to stand down after Britain's 3-2 defeat consigned them to a play-off with Ukraine in September to avoid dropping into the Euro-African Zone Group II.
Bates's reign, which began in April 2004 against Luxembourg after he succeeded Roger Taylor, yielded just two wins from six matches in charge.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
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HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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