By Romi Cvitkovic
March 14, 2013 — The U.S. Tennis Association said Thursday that they are working closely with the Serbian media outlet Sportska Centrala to sort through miscommunications regarding media credentials for the upcoming USA vs. Serbia Davis Cup series April 5-7 in Boise, Idaho.
Multiple USTA media representatives reached out to representatives of Tennis Grandstand Thursday to communicate that procedures for applying for the media credentials were not handled properly, thus the application for reporter Nebojsa Petrovacki was denied. Petrovacki is a former editor-at-large for Sportska Centrala, has covered dozens of ATP and WTA events over the last ten years, and is currently at the BNP Paribas Open as credentialed media.
While the Serbian Tennis Federation had stated in a correspondence with Sportska Centrala’s editor in chief, Alex Krstanovic, that only one Serbian journalist was credentialed for the series to their knowledge, the USTA said Thursday that at least four outlets were approved to cover the matches. According to the USTA, of those credentialed, only one applied as print media while the rest were internet or television applications.
Krstanovic, in an email on Thursday, said that in the media outlet’s original application for the Davis Cup tie, the Serbian Tennis Federation supported their reporter’s request for a credential, and had followed up with the International Tennis Federation on Thursday morning regarding the situation as well.
However, the USTA detailed that initial proper steps were not fully executed by the media outlet to warrant approval of the credential request upon original review.
The USTA has reached out to Petrovacki, and pending that proper steps are taken by the media outlet, the USTA “foresees (Petrovacki) getting re-credentialed” for the Davis Cup event in April.
With world No. 1 Novak Djokovic scheduled to participate as well as the soon-to-be named US team of John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Mike and Bob Bryan, the Davis Cup quarterfinal between the two tennis powerhouse countries is selling out fast. Secure your tickets here.
This article is a follow up to Wednesday’s piece on the denial of reporter Nebojsa Petrovacki’s credential request for the Davis Cup.
About Romana Cvitkovic
Bottom line is that no outlet was denied because of their country of origin. A miscommunication resulted in the original denial of the application, but to suggest that the USTA would deny a credential based on nationality – eapecially in a Davis Cup scenario – is absurd.
Ha ha… “Bottom Line”. The so called ‘bottom line’ was to meet the U.S. media’s needs and attain as much national coverage as possible to boost this little farm town’s publicity and gain tourism. Funny how it’s always a ‘miscommunication’ when someone speaks up.