Rohan Bopanna to receive Davis Cup Commitment Award

Bangalore: Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna will be awarded the Davis Cup Commitment Award here Saturday on the sidelines of the ongoing World Group play-off tie against Serbia, it was announced by International Tennis Federation (ITF) Thursday.

The ITF through its national associations, will present Davis Cup Commitment Awards during this weekend's 2014 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and zone group ties.

"The Davis Cup Commitment Award reflects the dedication by players for more than a century to represent their country in this prestigious competition. These players have continued to rise to the unique challenge of competing in a team environment in front of their home fans, and we believe that it is fitting to recognise their efforts," said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti.

This new award was conceived as part of the ITF's 2013 Centenary celebrations, and is presented to Davis Cup players who have shown long-standing dedication to representing their country in this prestigious competition. Each award recipient will have competed in a minimum of 20 home-and-away ties or 50 ties at any level of the competition (including week-long zone group events) over their career.

Besides Bopanna, former Grand Slam tennis champions Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil will also be presented the award after their respective games.

The ITF presented the first seven trophies to players in an on-court presentation at the 100th Davis Cup Final in Prague in 2012. Among the initial recipients were Italy’s Nicola Pietrangeli, who heads the elite list of players having played 66 home or away ties for his country; and San Marino’s Domenico Vicini, who holds the record for the most ties played in all levels of the competition with a total of 92.

This weekend presentations will be made to the following players at their respective Davis Cup home ties before the doubles rubber Saturday.

Australia: Lleyton Hewitt

Brazil: Carlos Kirmayr, Gustavo Kuerten, Luiz Mattar, Cassio Motta, Jaime Oncins

Canada: Frank Dancevic

Chinese Taipei: Ti Chen

France: Pierre Darmon

India: Rohan Bopanna

Romania: Victor Hanescu

Russia: Andrei Chesnokov, Andrei Olhovskiy

Thailand: Sanchai Ratiwatana, Sonchat Ratiwatana, Danai Udomchoke

Ukraine: Sergiy Stakhovsky