Davis Cup Tie In Indian Wells? Don’t Count On It

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 18th March 2014

Davis Cup Tie In Indian Wells? Don’t Count On It

epa04122440 Ernests Gulbis of Latvia leaves his broken racket on the court after he smashed it on the ground while losing his serve to Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain at the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA, 12 March 2014. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Despite having first-class facilities to hand, staging an American Davis Cup tie would be an almost impossible task for the newly expanded Indian Wells Tennis Garden, with tournament CEO Raymond Moore blaming inconvenient scheduling vis-a-vis his annual Masters 1000 with making a Davis tie all but logistically impossible.

With the success last month of a first-round tie in a San Diego baseball stadium – which resulted in a 3-1 win to Britain – the question of putting a tie in the desert always comes up. But Moore said that anything in February would play havoc with the annual tournament site build up, which begins in early January and continues until the early March start of the first Masters 1000 of the season.

Added to the logistics are the onerous conditions laid down by the USTA: “We think about Davis Cup every year, but, the financial conditions of running a Davis Cup are not friendly towards the promoter,” said former player Moore.

“The dates of the Davis Cup are difficult for us, because if they play the second round in the summer here, it’s 110 degrees (43 Celsius). That’s not good. I don’t think we’d ever have a Davis Cup match at that time.”

Moore explained that getting Masters off is priority No. 1 for his team. “The first round of Davis Cup is two or three weeks before our tournament. So the dates are difficult for us in any event. It would be difficult, but would it be doable to have a Davis Cup event and then segue right into the… Masters?

“It’s doable, but it’s very difficult. During the first week or second week of February you’re in the middle of a construction zone. Anything is doable – but it would be difficult. That’s what I’m saying. The dates are difficult for us. Plus, if we held a Davis Cup close to our tournament, I mean, we’d be cannibalizing our own event.”

Topics: 10sballs, Davis Cup, Indian Wells, Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Tennis, Tennis News, Usta