Tennis South Africa chief executive Ina Smith says that top player Kevin Anderson is asking for too much money to play Davis Cup. Anderson declined to play last week in Canada and instead played in the World TeamTennis finals. Anderson has claimed that Tennis South Africa does not compensate him properly and would not take care of him financially if he became injured and could not play tour events.
Smith says he hopes to get Anderson back on the team, but it depends on his demands.
“Other players are playing (Davis Cup) for nothing, and though we appreciate what he has done for SA tennis, Kevin needs to understand where SA sport in general stands with regards to funding and sponsorship, Smith told Sapa. “We have always tried to get Kevin to play Davis Cup,” Smith said. Last year we paid him a sizable amount of money to play two ties. Each time we play a Davis Cup tie overseas we cover flights and accommodation, and we also have a full-time physiotherapist with the team. Last year, when Kevin was injured in Potchefstroom, we still paid him. This year he asked for what we considered a little too much money.”