DAVIS CUP Chronicles: DENIED

The appeal by the Spanish tennis federation (RFET) concerning the court surface that will be used during their Davis Cup tie versus the U.S. was denied today by the ITF, tennis' world governing body. The RFET brought on the appeal because the courts manufacturer, Premier Courts, Inc., is not one of the 91 ITF-approved manufacturers. However, the ITF's Davis Cup committee found the court surface itself to be in accordance with DC regulations; the court surface name "Premiere Court" is considered a generic acrylic hard court . Moreover, there is "no requirement for specific brands" under DC rules. It was a unanimous ruling.

Here's the full statement from the ITF:

ITF Davis Cup Committee decision regarding RFET (Spanish Tennis Federation) appeal

The ITF's Davis Cup Committee unanimously agreed that the surface, "Premier Court", chosen by the United States for their quarterfinal tie against Spain, 8-10 July 2011 in Austin, Texas, complies with Rule 38 (a) of the Davis Cup Regulations for the Competition, "Surface of Courts."

The Davis Cup Committee determined that the court surface chosen by the Americans is of the type, "Acrylic", which is used in over 30 tour events and two Grand Slam tournaments. In the Davis Cup Regulations, Rule 38 (a) does not specify or imply a requirement for specific brands.

The Davis Cup Committee also confirmed that the ITF Classification of surfaces does not constitute any form of ITF Approval and is not a mandatory requirement of the court surface selection process for any ITF tournaments including Davis Cup.

The Davis Cup Committee also stated that the court must comply with rule 38 (b), "Court Pace Rating (CPR)," in order to ensure that the pace of the court is neither too fast nor too slow. CPR testing will be carried out by the ITF Science and Technical Department with the tie ball once the match court is laid and available for play.

The Davis Cup Committee is comprised of five members: Chairman Juan Margets of Spain, Armando Cervone of Argentina, Tom Gullikson of the United States, Geoff Pollard of Australia and Charles Trippe of Great Britain. Both Chairman Juan Margets and Tom Gullikson recused themselves from voting in this matter because of their national affiliations.

The court speed will be tested once the court is laid down and ready for play.

Rafael Nadal was asked about the ITF's decision in his post-match presser after reaching the quarterfinals in Barcelona:

The most important and the main thing is to see the court and see how it is. The fastest [courts] I've played on are in Tokyo and Montreal. If the Austin court is faster than these, then you have grounds for complaint, because it is illegal. But I know that the ITF has equipment to measure speed the ball and not allow it to violate the limits. However, we all know that when we play away, they always put in the fastest courts they can.

Spain's DC captain Albert Costa also chimed in:

What worries me most is not knowing exactly what the proposed court is. We must know what to expect. However, it is essential that the ITF takes it seriously and not allow irregularities.

I honestly think this brouhardyha over court surface isn't anything but a pre-tie bitchfest. When the court is finally installed and the test the speed I don't think they'll find any irregularities. I'm just hoping the tie is this dramatic. I mean, it BETTAH be after all this.

[Photo(s): Getty Images]