Mysuru: The IT and Startup Capital of India, Bengaluru will host the Davis Cup tie between India and Uzbekistan from April 7 to 9. This would be the second round of the Asia Oceania zone. India defeated New Zealand in the first round at Pune early this month.
Bengaluru had last hosted the Davis Cup World Group play off tie against Serbia during 2014. The Garden City has been the players’ choice too for this tie and AITA agreed to this while forwarding the proposal to ITF which was accepted.
Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports, Government of Karnataka, said, “We are glad that Bengaluru has been chosen as the venue for this prestigious tie and Davis Cup is returning to Bengaluru after two years. Our Chief Minister Siddaramaiah readily accepted to partner this event and we would like to welcome all players to Karnataka. Along with KSLTA, we will ensure the teams will have a wonderful experience”.
Senior Vice President of KSLTA and Chairman of Organising Committee R Ashoka welcomed this nomination and said, “KSLTA has always been in the forefront in promoting tennis and has been playing host to some amazing international events. We are thankful to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka for having extended his support to make this possible. We are confident of making this a successful event and this should be a treat to the sports lovers of Bangalore.”
The KSLTA Tennis Stadium has played host to Davis Cup ties, WTA Tour events and many other International tournaments.
Priyank Kharge, State Minister for IT, BT and Tourism said, “This adds another feather to the Cap of Bengaluru which was judged as the most Dynamic City. Karnataka has been a leading tourist destination in the country and with our current impetus of making it a complete destination, this Davis Cup tie, should go a long way in promoting Karnataka’s sports tourism.”
Speaking on this decision, new non playing Captain of the Indian Davis Cup team, Mahesh Bhupathi who will be making his debut in his hometown of Bengaluru stated, “With the current roster of available players for this Davis Cup tie, I’m confident that the surface at KSLTA will work well for the team. The conditions in Bangalore will be complementary to their big serves, putting them at an advantage as they take on Uzbekistan.”
Hironmoy Chatterjee, Secretary General, All India Tennis Association (AITA) said, “We are pleased to confirm Bengaluru as the venue for the Davis Cup tie between India and Uzbekistan. We are sure that Bengaluru will embrace this event and witness some high quality tennis.”
