ISLAMABAD - International Tennis Federation (ITF) manager training centres and events Frank Couraud met with Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada here at Pakistan Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Pirzada welcomed Frank and discussed the matters relating to tennis. Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) president Salim Saifullah Khan was also present on the occasion. The minister said that the government and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is grateful to the ITF for revival of Davis Cup tie in Pakistan after 12 years and the conduct of Davis Cup tie with the support of ITF has left many fond memories in the hearts of the tennis fraternity.

The minister said that conduct of Davis Cup between Pakistan and Iran was highly appreciated by the diplomats and elite of the government, besides national and foreign establishments in Islamabad. “Islamabad is a beautiful capital city and well secured especially regarding holding of sports events.

“Currently, we are looking forward to host the next tie in September. We are expecting more crowd to come and witness the tie after Iran tie between and hopefully, we will host the next tie in a trend-setting manner,” he added.  Speaking on the occasion, Frank said that the ITF is also focusing on to bring kids towards tennis and promoting the game at grassroots level.

“There should be centres in major cities of Pakistan for tennis activities and training and I hope his visit to Pakistan will be productive and I believe the ITF will surely support promotion of tennis in Pakistan.”