Florida new home for Israeli tennis
Security concerns force relocation of Davis Cup match against Argentina
SUNRISE, FLA.— Andy Ram made no effort to hide his frustration.
He wanted to spend this weekend playing tennis for his country inside an arena in Tel Aviv, surrounded by 11,000 fellow Israelis who could have provided immense support to his team for a critical Davis Cup tie against Argentina.
Instead, he is 6,500 miles from home.
“Unfortunately,” Ram said, “we’re here.”
The aforementioned “here” is a South Florida suburb about 35 miles north of Miami, the spot chosen to host the Argentina-Israel matches that were displaced because of a war that raged until last month.
Over 50 days, more than 2,200 people — most of them Palestinians — were killed in the war, the third round of fighting since Hamas seized power in Gaza.
Given the uncertainty over the safety of everyone involved when this World Group playoff was being scheduled, the International Tennis Federation told the Israelis in early August to choose a new host site even while acknowledging that the war was slowing down.
Israel’s appeal to postpone or relocate the match elsewhere in the nation was denied, and South Florida soon became the agreed-upon destination.
“It is always a very difficult decision for the ITF to take away choice of ground in Davis Cup,” ITF president Ricci Bitti saidwhen the decision was announced.
The Israelis still aren’t happy about it, even though the sizable Jewish population in South Florida could still provide a home-court advantage of sorts this weekend.
“That’s why we brought the Davis Cup here. That’s one of the reasons,” Ram said. “The Jewish community is big, the crowd is going to be on our side, and it’s the closest we can feel at home.”
Then again, the Miami area also has plenty of Latin influence, so Argentina’s players will likely hear a few cries of “Vamos!” over the weekend, as well. And with Leonardo Mayer — a winner on the ATP Tour earlier this year and now the 25th-ranked player in the world — leading their side, the Argentines would be considered favourites anyway.
“I’m not going to get involved in the decisions of the international federation,” Argentina captain Martin Jaite said. “Definitely, for a team to lose their local advantage is a disadvantage.”
Jaite, a former top-10 singles player, is Jewish but said his faith didn’t leave him feeling torn this weekend.
“I’m the captain of the Argentinian team,” Jaite said. “I don’t have any conflictions or emotions. I’m representing Argentina.”