GENEVA – Jakob Hlasek will step down at
the end of season as Swiss Davis Cup and Fed Cup captain.
Hlasek, who had a contract till 2005, was told by the Swiss
tennis association on Thursday that his services would not be
required beyond the current season as many players are refusing
to play under his captaincy.
While Hlasek enjoyed considerable success, guiding the men
past the United States in the opening round of this year's Davis
Cup before falling to France in the quarter-finals last month,
his accomplishments were overshadowed by rows with the players.
Following the emotional defeat by France, the country's
rising tennis star Roger Federer said he could no longer play
for Switzerland if Hlasek was on the bench.
Ironically, Hlasek had just days earlier resolved a long
running feud with Marc Rosset, who had refused to the play for
Switzerland soon after his former doubles-partner was appointed
captain in December 1999.
Swiss Tennis president Christine Ungricht, president of
Swiss tennis, told SwissInfo on Friday that Federer's threatened
boycott had played a major role in Hlasek's departure.
"The decision wasn't based purely on player power," said
Ungricht. "But the association has goals, and one of those is to
field the best possible professional teams. At the moment such a
team would clearly have to include Roger Federer."
Without the services of women's world No. 1 Martina
Hingis, Hlasek helped the Swiss Fed Cup team remain among the
elite nations.
His final task as Swiss captain will to be in charge of a
Fed Cup clash against Australia later this year.
"The association is happy with Hlasek's work," said
Ungricht. "From our point of view he was the right man for the
job. But the captain must also be able to work with the team and
with individual players."
Ungricht added that the tennis association planned to
consult with the players before appointing a successor to
Hlasek.
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