Sri Lanka will play host to the Pakistan-China Davis Cup draw that is scheduled to take place during March this year due the pertaining security concerns in Lahore.
The Sri Lanka Tennis Association will host the fixture on behalf of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) since the visitors China refused to visit the violence riddled nation due to security concerns.
“It’s disappointing to note that International Tennis Federation has rejected our appeal of playing the tie in Pakistan and we are now forced to host it in Sri Lanka,” an official of PTF, Khalid Rehmani had told reporters.
Pakistan are currently in Group I of the Asia Oceania region and the China fixture is a crucial one for them as it will decide whether they survive in the top tier or not. Pakistan made it to Group I for the 1st time after defeating Thailand last year in the promotion play-off and will look to stay in the sector without being relegated.
Pakistan has lost out on their privileges to host a Davis Cup fixture since 2005 and have opted to play in neighboring nations. Both China and Pakistan have met on six different occasions in a Davis Cup tie with the last being in 2006 where China registered a 5-0 win.
The winner of the play off will meet Uzbekistan for a place in the Word Group Play Offs.
