Andy Murray: ITF have been disrespectful to Bedene over nationality switch

The 26-year-old has fallen foul of a change in the rules preventing players from representing two different countries.

Bedene, who is ranked at 45 in the world, was attempting to switch nationalities from Slovenian to British when the rule was introduced in January.

On Tuesday he travelled to Prague with Lawn Tennis Association lawyer Stephen Farrow to present his case to the ITF board of directors. However, he was only given a short opportunity to speak and was informed that a decision would not be made until the next meeting in March.

If Bedene had won the appeal he could have played for Britain in the Davis Cup final next weekend against Belgium in Ghent.

But now he will not even be eligible when the team play against Japan next year in the first round.

Murray, who lost in straight sets to Rafa Nadal at the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday, told the BBC: "The fact that he had to go all the way over to Prague just to be told that they hadn't made a decision, I think, is a bit disrespectful towards him.

"If they hadn't made a decision, they could have just said, 'We haven't made a decision yet - we're going to decide in March,' and he could have stayed at home.

"I think they have done everything correctly and in the right amount of time and I can understand from his side why you would be very frustrated with that."

Murray is spot on. What’s the point of inviting Bedene over to Prague, only for the ITF to tell him virtually straight away that they were not going to make a decision until next year? What a waste of time and money for all concerned.

The fact that Bedene had already started his application to switch nationality before the rule change weighs heavily in his favour. It is understandable, however, that Bedene’s case should not be considered until after the current Davis Cup competition is over. Apart from anything else, parachuting him in at this stage seems decidedly unfair on the other members of the Great Britain side that have helped their team get to the final.

As for the nationality issue itself? We’ll defer to Eurosport commentator, and former world No 1 in doubles, Frew McMillan. He said of Bedene and the women’s No 2 Jo Konta recently: “I think Bedene has been here long enough (he first set up a base in the UK in 2008) to be considered if not a pukka Brit, at least to play under the British flag and I think that’s fair enough, he’s been here that long. Konta (who was born in Australia to Hungarian parents) has also based herself here (since 2005) for personal reasons and I think that’s all well and good. If it enhances their careers, then why not?”