Decision on Davis tie expected on Friday

Indian officials will meet the United States Tennis Association on Friday to decide whether their Davis Cup tie next week should be postponed following Tuesday's terror attacks in New York and Washington DC.

"Anil Khanna (secretary of the All India Tennis Association) will talk to USTA officials in Cancun tomorrow and they will decide," Dr Vece Paes, the India team doctor and father of its leading player Leander, said over phone from Calcutta on Thursday.

Khanna is attending the annual general meeting of the International Tennis Federation -- the governing body of the Davis Cup -- in Cancun, Mexico.

India is scheduled to play its World Group play-off tie in in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from September 21-23.

Vece Paes said if the tie is to go ahead as scheduled, the Indian players will have to reach the venue by Saturday to get enough practice.

Flights in and out of the United States remain disrupted after the air strikes by hijacked jetliners that demolished New York City's World Trade Center and caused heavy damage to the Pentagon outside Washington DC.

An AITA official said in New Delhi that a American official had indicated that the USTA would have no objection if India wanted to postpone the tie.

But he said any future date will have to be discussed with the two top Indian players, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, as it might clash with their tour engagements.

Leander Paes is currently back in India after taking part in the US Open, which ended last week, where he reached the mixed doubles final with Lisa Raymond.

His doubles partner Bhupathi -- the two are expected to share both the singles and doubles in the tie -- is in New York, while Ramesh Krishnan, the team's non-playing captain, had reached Washington when the attacks took place.