Aljaz Bedene: Andy Murray brands ITA's delay in decision over eligibility of Slovenia-born player to represent Britain in Davis Cup ‘a complete waste time’
Bedene is appealing against a ruling that he cannot play for his new country because he has already represented the country of his birth
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Your support makes all the difference.Andy Murray described the International Tennis Federation’s postponement of a decision on Aljaz Bedene’s eligibility to play for Britain in the Davis Cup as “a complete waste of time”.
Bedene and the Lawn Tennis Association’s legal director, Stephen Farrow, flew to Prague to discuss his case on Tuesday, only for their meeting with the ITF board to be adjourned. The board’s next meeting is in March, after Britain’s first-round tie against Japan next year.
Bedene, who was granted a British passport earlier this year and has lived in Britain since 2008, is appealing against an ITF ruling that he cannot play for his new country because he has already represented Slovenia, the country of his birth. There had been speculation that if Bedene had been successful Leon Smith, Britain’s captain, might consider him for a place in next week’s Davis Cup final against Belgium.
Murray, who practised with Bedene at Queen’s Club last week, said: “From a personal point of view, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about it and it was a complete waste of my time as well. I’ve been asked about it a lot, for absolutely no reason at all.
“For Aljaz – just tell him you haven’t made the decision and don’t have him fly all the way over there just to tell him you haven’t decided. For him it’s disappointing. I would imagine for Leon that is pretty frustrating.”
Murray said that delaying a decision until March was “strange”. He added: “I would imagine they would move it forward a little bit. It would make sense to do that.”
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