Australian boycott may end Hewitt’s run in Davis Cup

April 26th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Tennis Australia (TA) Sunday said it will appeal if the International Tennis Federation (ITF) suspends them from the Davis Cup after their pull-out from the tie in India. The TA Saturday decided to boycott the Asia-Oceania Group I tie to be held in Chennai May 8-10 because of security concerns after ITF rejected their appeal to shift the tie to a neutral venue.

April 24th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australia's Davis Cup team has been ordered to play India in Chennai, triggering fears of a boycott. The International Tennis Federation today decided that Chennai is a safe venue for the May 8-10 Davis Cup tie.

April 22nd, 2009 MELBOURNE - Davis Cup legend Todd Woodbridge has condemned the International Tennis Federation for insisting that Australia play their Cup tie against India in Chennai. Australia wants a neutral venue for the Asia-Oceania Group I playoff while Australian No.1 Lleyton Hewitt will not play if the tournament stays in India, reports The Age.

April 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - All India Tennis Association (AITA) secretary general Anil Khanna Saturday said the International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided in favour of Chennai as the venue for the Davis Cup tie between India and Australia May 8-10. Tennis Australia last month requested ITF to switch their Asia-Oceania Group I third round tie from India, citing security concerns.

April 18th, 2009 MELBOURNE/NEW DELHI - The decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to retain Chennai as the venue of India-Australia Davis Cup tie has not gone well with Tennis Australia (TA) and might prompt a boycott from the 28-times champion. The ITF Davis Cup committee Friday decided not to change the venue by near unanimous vote with four of the five members voting in favour and only Australia dissenting.

April 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India retained their Davis Cup team that beat Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) for the round three Asia Oceania group tie against Australia in Chennai May 8-10. The only addition to the team is junior Australian Open champion Yuki Bhambri, who has been included as a reserve player.

April 16th, 2009 SRINAGAR - In a significant development, the moderate Hurriyat group led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq Thursday decided not to call for a boycott of parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir. After three days of discussions here, the group announced that the elections were no alternative to 'the right to self-determination' but did not specifically ask Kashmiris to keep away from the polls.

April 13th, 2009 BHOPAL - Over 30,000 villagers in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district - where many villages have submerged due to a dam project - have decided to boycott the polls in protest against the power plant on the Pench river. 'People of 32 villages who have been effected due to the Pench project will Tuesday take a pledge at Ravindra Bhawan in Bhopal to boycott the polls,' Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist Aradhana Bhargava told IANS.

April 8th, 2009 CHENNAI - Claiming India is one of the safest destinations for sports, Anil Khanna, secretary-general of the All-India Tennis Association, expressed confidence that the Davis Cup tie against Australia will be held here as per schedule from May 8 to 10. 'The Australian players had expressed concerns over security, but I can assure them that we will offer them the best of hospitality and security when they come here for the Davis Cup tie,' said Khanna at a media briefing here Wednesday.

March 31st, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt and his wife Bec have started legal action against the New Idea magazine after it claimed the actress was seeing another man - who in reality was her brother. The magazine ran a cover story titled "Bec's other man" and claimed she was spending more and more time with a "hunky" American fitness trainer.

March 18th, 2009 PATNA - Maoists in Bihar have given a call for boycott of the general elections scheduled in April and May and have decided to intensify their struggle, said a statement issued by the banned outfit Wednesday. 'We have urged people to boycott the general elections in 2009 to strengthen our struggle for them,' Maoist spokesman Gopal said here in a press release issued Wednesday.

March 12th, 2009 INDIAN WELLS - Roger Federer and Darren Cahill have gone their separate ways after a trial coaching run in Dubai was scuppered by a potentially killing travel schedule for the Australian. Federer, second seed at the Indian Wells Masters, whose ATP play begins Thursday, revealed that Cahill had withdrawn from the potential all-star arrangement due to the tyranny of travel on the tour.

February 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi said the Davis Cup team would have to deal with Prakash Amritraj's absence and felt that Junior Australian Open champion Yuki Bhambri should be blooded in the national squad in the upcoming tie against Chinese Taipei. The government last year ruled that only Indian citizens would be allowed to represent the country.

January 22nd, 2009 ADELAIDE - Australian cyclist Allan Davis fancied his chances of keeping the race leader's ochre jersey in Friday's 143-kilometre fourth stage of the Tour Down Under. 'If the chance arrives, I'll definitely have a crack, but the plan is to keep it simple,' the 26-year-old said on the starting line.

December 30th, 2008 KOLKATA - Former Davis Cupper Premjit Lal died at his residence here Wednesday following prolonged illness. He was 68. A widower, he is survived by two sons and a daughter.