The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) has formulated a strange format for this year’s key boys’ junior international tournament, the Junior Davis Cup, it was reported on Saturday (Jan. 31).

According to this format that has seemingly been laid down for the convenience of the selectors, contains third set ‘super tie-breaker’ which is applied in a situation where sets are equal at 1-1 in a match. Some participants have expressed their disagreement over this format which does not comply with the real Junior Davis Cup rules.

It was also alleged that the particular trials format has been changed time after time since the trials began on Jan. 23, in such a way that it would be dragged on till some juniors, who are favoured by the selectors, arrive here in Sri Lanka finishing their overseas assignments.

Ten boys have been named for the trials including Thuruna Eshwarage, Ashan de Silva, Nevinda de Silva, Madusha Wijesuriya, Sharmal Dissanayake, Akila de Silva, Vimuktha de Silva, M.A. Shakir, Nicholas Fairbanks and Chinthaka Shaveen.

The two members of the present nine-member SLTA Interim Committee, P.S. Kumara and Asiri Iddamalgoda —both former Sri Lanka reps in (senior) Davis Cup— are handling team selections until a formal selection committee is appointed.

Junior Davis Cup is to be held in Myanmar next March and there will be three players representing each country along with a reserve player.

Similar dispute in a national team selection process led to a spilt in the SLTA committee early last year resulting in a ministerial intervention and an eventual appointment of an interim administration headed by Janaka Bogollagama which included members from both the rival parties.

The Interim Committee was appointed for tennis by Sports and Public Recreation Minister Gamini Lokuge on Aug. 30, 2009.