Tennis: No 1 Court could host Cup

Chris Gorringe, Wimbledon's chief executive, said yesterday that "it is not out of the question" for Britain's Davis Cup tie with Egypt to be played on the No 1 court at Wimbledon in September.

Britain must beat Egypt to gain promotion to the Euro-African Zone Group One, and David Lloyd, the Davis Cup captain, and Tim Henman are keen to hold the match at the All England Club.

No 1 court is about to be demolished to make way for a new players' and media centre, but Gorringe said that, if necessary, the bulldozers could wait.

"It is not out of the question for the tie to be held on the No 1 court," he said, before adding cautiously: "But we would have to consider it carefully from our angle and we would need a formal request from the LTA [Lawn Tennis Association] before we could consider it."

Whether the LTA would agree to playing the tie at Wimbledon is still debatable. It might prefer the tie to be staged at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, where they have spent vast sums improving the venue.