Israel Set For Chile Tie
Israel's World Group play-off DAvis Cup match in Chile has been given the go ahead, though the start of the tie has been delayed by 24 hours.
Chile was hit by the Earthquake last weekend, which in turn set of a tsunami, claimed hundreds of lives however the International Tennis Federation notified the Israel Tennis Association that the stadium in Coquimbo, where the matches will be played, was not damaged and that the tie will begin as scheduled.
However, the ITF announced on Wednesday that the tie will now start on Saturday, blaming logistical issues for reaching the country.
Israel captain Eyal Ran, coach Noam Behr and players Dudi Sela, Harel Levy and Yoni Erlich were making their way to the capital Santiago from Dallas, when the earthquake struck, meaning their flight was diverted to Miami.
Doubles specialist Andy Ram had travelled to the country separately, though had to have his flight diverted to Antofagasta airport, 200 km from Santiago.
Unable to communicate with the rest of his side, he could only send a text message to the ITA saying: "The situation looks pretty bad here. No one knows what's going on and when we will be able to fly out of here. It's sad that I have to experience this on my own. The things I'd go through to play for the national team!"
Chile's Jewish tennis star Nicholas Massu arrived in his hometown on Monday and while expressing concern with the Chilean people, said he was ready to play.
Assuming the tie does take place, the Israeli squad will be taking the first step as they look to try and emulate their heroic feats of last year when they reached the semi-finals of the competition before being comprehensively beaten by Spain.
Looking ahead to this year's campaign, captain Ran told the Jewish News: "The run to the last four has made us very hungry to want to at least repeat the feat this year. We got a lot of support from the Israeli public, it's something very special to represent Israel and it's very important that we go again next year."
Meanwhile, a Swedish appeals court has handed out a six-month prison sentence to a man for the part he played in rioting that took place during Israel's Davis Cup tie against Sweden last year. Using film footage from the incident in Malmo, the 23-year-old and another defendant were ordered to pay $18,000 to cover repair costs for police vehicles. The tie, 12 months ago, was played behind closed doors after city officials said they couldn't guarantee the safety and of players and officials due to local anti-Israel feeling.
