India to host Italy on grass in Kolkata

India will host Italy on grass in the Qualifiers for the Davis Cup Finals at South Club in Kolkata on February 1-2, the national tennis federation said Tuesday.

Kolkata was chosen as the venue only after the All India Tennis Association (AITA) secured two key exemptions from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The rules require that World Group and Play-off ties be played at a venue where the space behind the baseline is 27 feet and there is a seating capacity of 4000.

Only DLTA and the centre court at MSLTA fulfil the two requirements but they do not have grass courts.

Non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi was keen to play on grass, considering that Italians are solid hard court players.

"We had written to ITF, asking for these exemptions because we wanted to play on grass. South Club courts have space of 21 feet behind the baseline and we can create stands to accommodate up to 3000 fans. ITF agreed on this," AITA Secretary Hironmoy Chatterjee told PTI.

"We had also asked for ...