Personally I’ve seen this one completely the opposite way. Why? Firstly, because tennis and cricket are completely different sports. Tennis is played in a small stadium and involves only a small number of athletes. Thus it is much, much easier to control from a security point of view. It is also a relatively low-interest sport in India (compared with cricket), and so I’d be surprised if it appealed as a political target. Chennai is considered a relatively low-risk part of the country (as opposed to places like Mumbai and Kashmir). The DC tie was a single event, as opposed to the multi-team, multi-venue IPL (i.e., one required thousands and thousands of policemen for security, the other just a handful of well-trained professionals). There is no history of sports events in India being political targets. India is not Pakistan!

As far as I am aware, no international cricket team has ever not gone to India for security reasons – even the English returned a week after the Mumbai bombings last year. So why on earth should TA have been so precious?

I completely agree that LH had the right to withdraw from this tie if he wanted to, and I don’t even think he could have been begrudged it given the years and years of devoted service he has given to Australia’s DC cause. But TA should have just gone ahead without him. Frankly I see this one as yet another example of the appalling lack of leadership and intelligence in TA.

I should add that I fully support the Australian cricket team’s stance in recent times in not touring Pakistan. It’s just that I see this one as being completely different, as explained.

However I am certainly open to hearing logical arguments from the other side …

I have watched him since he burst onto the tour and have loved every minute. Never was he supposed to do what he did. Everyone wrote him off and he ended up winning two grand slams, youngest ever year-end world number 1 and Davis Cup champion. It has been an honour to watch this guy play.

I think he has a good chance against Nadal. Everytime they have played (bar Beijing) there has been nothing in it. I think Lleyton will surprise a few people tomorrow. His story is not over yet.

What do I respect about Hewitt? I respect that he speaks his mind (unless it’s of a racist nature), I respect his abilitity to punch above his weight,and I respect his ability to pick up Bec Cartwright!

I was glad he made those comments about the ITF and the Davis Cup. He called it a circus, and that’s exactly what it is.
Who in their right mind would send any sporting team to India at the moment? I was listening to the BBC sportsworld show last Sunday morning, and the correspondent critised Australia for not going to India, saying ‘Australia should consider themselves lucky they only got a small penalty”.. Couldn’t believe it from a BBC journalist.

Anyway back to Hewitt. He will lose tomorrow night, but Wimbledon and the US Open are his grandslams…And I think he can make it to at least the quarters at Wimbledon…and of course he can beat anyone in Davis Cup..he just needs a decent Australian partner in the singles.

I don’t think anyone begrudges Hewitt’s success, and especially his Davis Cup heroics (and likewise, no-one will ever question his committment to Davis Cup), but the fact remains he will never ever have unanimous support.

His run in Paris is getting him on the backpages again, where he belongs, and should he get past Nadal this week, he’ll go a long way to regaining some of that lost support..