Tennis Community on Guard Over Security at Davis Cup Final
Tennis Community on Guard Over Security at Davis Cup Final
Appalling scenes of crowd hooliganism that caused Serbia’s European Championship international football match in Italy to be abandoned after just seven minutes have raised concerns about security when the nation stages its’ first ever Davis Cup final.
Fierce patriotism has always been part of the Serbian make-up and the International Tennis Federation has demanded an immediate update on security in preparation for the final against France that is set to be staged at the 15,000-seat Belgrade Arena from December 3-5.
To the dismay of all leading Serb sportsmen, including world no.2 Novak Djokovic who will again spearhead the team in Belgrade, spectators threw flares and fireworks onto the field, burned a flag and broke barriers, leading to eight arrests in Italy and 19 in Serbia. The match had to be delayed by nearly 40 minutes as a banner was unfurled reading “Kosovo is Serbia”.
Some so-called fans even attacked their own team’s bus, causing the goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic to withdraw from the game after being reportedly struck by a firework.
Djokovic, whose family has staged the Serbian Open in Belgrade on the ATP World Tour for the last two years, is insistent violence will not be an issue when Guy Forget’s French team arrives to try and deny Serbia a first-ever Davis Cup title.
“First of all there is a different crowd coming to tennis and football,” insisted Djokovic who pointed out the Serbian team has played two ties in Belgrade en route to the final, against the United States and Czech Republic.
Speaking from the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters where he is second seed, Djokovic continued: “But it’s definitely really not nice to see. We really didn’t like the picture that we saw that day. I definitely don’t support violence, and neither does anybody in sport.
“As an athlete, I definitely felt bad for the players because I know they really wanted to play that game, and it was an important game. But it wasn’t in their hands or in their power.
Serbian officials said the fans in Genoa belonged to the same far-right groups that clashed with police in Belgrade last Sunday while trying to disrupt a gay pride parade, leaving more than 150 people injured and causing widespread damage.
ITF president Francisco Ricci Bitti reported the French Federation de Tennis (FFT) had yet to make any specific security requests. And Djokovic is optimistic good sense will prevail. “Davis Cup is a very unique competition where you get to feel the team spirit that you don’t get to feel that often,” said the world no.2. “We are individuals, so we mostly perform for ourselves.
“In Davis Cup, it’s about the team, it’s about supporting each other, winning for your country. That’s why it’s a big pleasure and an honor for me and for all my teammates playing in this competition. It’s why we always try to give the last piece of energy for our country.
“It’s been the best Davis Cup year ever in the history of Serbian tennis. We get to play the final at home. We hope that we’ll have a full arena of support. It’s very important.
“We are playing against France, a country that has much more success and tradition in this competition than us. But we’re confident we can pull out the win.”
Topics: Atp World Tour, Czech Republic, Davis Cup, Dismay, Flares, Football Match, French Team, Goalkeeper, Hooliganism, International Football, International Tennis Federation, Kosovo, Novak Djokovic, Patriotism, Rolex, Serbian, Spectators, Sportsmen, Support Violence, Tennis Community
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