Serbs pledge safety for French Davis Cup team
The head of Serbia's tennis federation says French players should not fear for their safety during the Davis Cup finals.
Slobodan Zivojinovic said Friday the hosts ''have taken absolutely all measures'' to prevent fan violence ahead of the Dec. 3-5 finals in Belgrade.
He said ''Belgrade has always been an open city'' and that ''Australians, Americans and the Czechs were here in the previous rounds, and there were no problems.''
Serbia fans are notorious for violence at sporting events. Last month, the Italy-Serbia European Championship qualifier in Genoa was abandoned because of Serbia fan violence.
The France team is reportedly planning to bring its own security officials to protect Gael Monfils, Michael Llodra, Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet during the final.
One of the security measures limits the number of tickets on sale for the finals in the 15,000-capacity Belgrade Arena to 5,000. The rest will be distributed by the Serbian tennis federation.
Third-ranked Novak Djokovic is expected to lead the Serbs in their first appearance in the Davis Cup final. France has won nine titles, the last in 2001.