The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Deplorable conditions leave players disgruntled

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Deplorable conditions leave players disgruntled

By Our Special Correspondent

GURGAON, NOV. 8. An under-prepared cricket pitch may have resurrected the lost hopes of Indian cricket recently in Mumbai, but a set of unprepared clay courts proved a nightmare for tennis players from 17 countries in the ITF Satellite tennis circuit being played at the National Tennis Academy (NTA) complex here.

The recently re-laid courts have not been up to the standards of professional tennis, and a collective representation by the players to take "appropriate action" and possibly shift the tournament to another venue has evoked little response from the authorities.

It was no fun watching the courts being frequently watered, rolled and swept during the matches to ensure that the surface did not break into a sand pit.

"The clay courts at the NTA are in very bad shape. They have lots of potholes," says the letter from the players, and that definitely is no exaggeration as one watched the courts disintegrate quickly every time after being made.

The bad bounce was tone of the worries, as the surface might catch the players unawares and result in serious injuries. One of the leading Indian players, the fifth-seeded Vinod Sridhar tried to practise on the courts for two days and gave up. He pulled out of the tournament on Monday to avoid aggravating a knee injury that he had sustained recently in a long-drawn match in Bangkok.

"Had it been hard courts, I could have tried to play, but these clay courts are very dangerous," said Vinod, before leaving the venue, located about 60 kilometres from the heart of Delhi.

Precedent

A few years ago, the matches on a similar surface elsewhere in the country were postponed when Italian referee, Luigi Brambilla, found the lines on the clay courts unsatisfactory. However, the Indian referee Puneet Gupta, despite an ITF silver badge qualification, has not been able to take a tough stand in the current situation. The helplessness of the referee was evident from the manner in which he kept himself busy, personally watering and rolling the courts with considerable expertise, with assistance from other ITF qualified umpires.

There are only three synthetic courts at the venue — and six clay courts; so a shift to the hard courts was also ruled out, much to the chagrin of the players.

Of course, the poor surface is only one of the many problems for the players at this location. The accommodation has come for scathing attack, as an average of four players have been squeezed into every room, with hardly any space for their luggage. Worse, the rooms do not have attached toilet facilities, televisions and other amenities.

"There are only two showers and three toilets for every four rooms, which means 16 players have to struggle to get ready in the morning," said the champion of a recent Futures tournament, Vijay Kannan, quite annoyed at the state of affairs in a circuit that offers $25,000 in prize money.

Isolation

With the Academy located amidst a vast expanse of agriculture field, running into many kilometres on all four sides, and with the Gurgaon city about 25 kilometres away, the players feel stranded away from civilization, once they are finished with their matches.

They cannot buy anything or go out for entertainment. If they want to go the malls of Gurgaon in the evening, they have to cough up Rs. 1000 for a trip in a van.

They have no option for lunch and dinner, except to pay up Rs. 200 every day and eat whatever is provided, as the hospitality is restricted to bed and breakfast. The players in the qualifying event have to shell out Rs. 500 every day for their stay.

The very idea of having a tennis academy at such a place is questionable, and to hold an international tennis tournament featuring players from the US, Russia, Germany, Austria, Japan, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Slovenia, Romania, Egypt, Croatia, Holland, Hong Kong, Belgium, Pakistan and Sri Lanka defies logic.

The players are unable to digest the very idea of playing three weeks on the trot at this venue, before moving to Delhi for the Masters event in the fourth week.

The whole exercise may be a desperate attempt to promote the National Tennis Academy, but Indian tennis will take years to recover from this scar.

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