Sandstorms delay start of Chile-Colombia Davis Cup clash

Poor court conditions due to a recent sandstorm have delayed the start of this weekend’s Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I tie between Chile and Colombia, organizers said Friday.

Northern Chile was battered last weekend by unusual sandstorms that, among other things, left unplayable the redclay court that was to be used starting Friday for this threeday event.

Despite the effort to get the court at the Huayquique Recreational Center in Iquique ready, the first singles matches were postponed until Saturday, meaning the reverse singles will be pushed back to Monday.

Chile’s Nicolas Jarry and Gonzalo Lama will play Colombians Santiago Giraldo and Alejandro Gonzalez, respectively, in the opening singles matches.

Sunday’s doubles will pit Chileans Hans Podlipnik and Jarry against the Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, while Lama is scheduled to square off against Giraldo and Jarry against Gonzalez in Monday’s reverse singles.

The winner of this tie will compete in the Davis Cup World Group Playoffs in September for a spot in the 2017 World Group.