The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) sources told ‘Sunday Island – Sportstar’ last week that this year’s Davis Cup would be held from April 13-17 in Damascus, Syria.

Though the SLTA is yet to announce a pool for this year’s Davis Cup, it has already appointed former Sri Lanka Davis Cup player and Coach Asiri Iddamalgoda as Non-Playing Captain-cum-Manager for this year’s campaign, it was also revealed last week.

Rohan de Silva was the former Non-Playing Captain of the Sri Lanka team. Vasantha Wijesekara was the Sri Lanka Davis Cup Manager for nearly four years.

Iddamalgoda has played in the Sri Lanka’s Davis Cup team in years 1999 and 2000. He was one of the members of the local team that last played in her Zone’s Group-II (in 1999). Iddamalgoda also became coach of the Sri Lanka Davis Cup team, that was in 2001.

Now he is one of the nine members of the SLTA Interim Committee which was appointed by Sports and Public Recreation Minister Gamini Lokuge last August. Along with another former Davis Cup stalwart, P.S. Kumara, Iddamalgoda holds the responsibility of national team selection in the interim administration headed by Janaka Bogollagama.

Both Pacific Oceania –a team comprising players from associate member islands in Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand—and Lebanon, a Group-I 1st Round rep in ’98-2000 and 2002, are playing in Group-III this year after getting demotion from last year’s Group-II and both Saudi Arabia and Singapore have earned a promotion this year to Group-III after their good run in the lowest Group-IV in 2008.

The SLTA source further added that Sri Lanka’s top player Harshana Godamanna and Rajeev Rajapakse will lead the country’s campaign this year too as they did in the last three year becoming the most successful doubles team in Sri Lanka’s Davis Cup history since her inaugural participation in 1952 in this over a century old tournament regarded the men’s world cup of the sport.

Guyanga Weerasekera and Michael Siyaguna are the other two who are likely to play in this year’s campaign. Weerasekera now holds the highest ITF junior rank of 390 (as on Jan. 1, 2009) from the country. Siyaguna left junior circuit last year with an impressive rank of 531, the highest by a local junior that time.

Meanwhile, SLTA said their efforts to get the services of top overseas-based players, Franklyn Emmanuel, Oshada WIjemanne and Amrith Rupasinghe, became futile since all those players presently studying in USA have their examinations during the month of April.

According to records, Sri Lanka has never played on Syrian soil though she has met Syria twice, in both 1991 and ’98 in Colombo winning in both those times. Damascus, where the international venue has indoor hard courts according to reports, has last hosted Davis Cup in 2001, a Group-II event.

Iran, Lebanon, Pacific Oceania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria and Tajikistan

1. Pakistan, 2. Malaysia, 3. Syria, 4. Iran , 5. Sri Lanka, 6. Tajikistan 7. Vietnam, 8. United Arab Emirates

Pakistan and Malaysia promoted to A-O Zone Group-II for 2009 while Vietnam and UAE were relegated to A-O Zone Group-IV of 2009

Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Rep. of Korea, Thailand and Uzbekistan

Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan and Philippines