TENNIS PON DE ROCK could be pon de ropes.
World No.12 Gael Monfils has been forced to withdraw from Barbados’ premier tennis exhibition series due to injury, leaving the second edition of Tennis Pon De Rock under a cloud of uncertainty.
 Originally slated for December 11 and 12, the high-profiled exhibition has since been postponed as the organisers – Barbados Invitational Tennis Exhibition (BITE) – failed in their attempts to find a last-minute replacement for the injured Frenchman.
 The event’s delay was made public yesterday in a Press release following days of speculation last week that BITE would be forced to abandon the exhibition entirely after Monfils suffered severe soreness in his feet at the conclusion of last month’s Masters event in Paris.
 The 24-year-old Frenchman actually stunned 16-time Grand Slam champ Roger Federer in the semis of that tournament before eventually succumbing to world
No.5 Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1) in the final.
 “France are in the Davis Cup finals this week and he’s probably going to give it a go there as it’s a huge occasion, but he’ll likely be forced to rest following the finals,” said BITE director Kodi Lewis in the release.
 “Obviously this close to the event we are deeply disappointed, but in the interest of giving the Barbadian public a quality event, we think pushing the event back is the right decision.
“We are now in the process of rescheduling with all involved and hope to make an announcement relatively quickly.”
 Last year’s US Open champ, Juan Martin del Potro, who was scheduled to play Monfils at the Wildey Gym, and world No. 19 John Isner, were expected to be the featured performers of the two-day festival.
No date yet
But no date has since been announced for the series’ rescheduling, and the exhibition could be on hold for the foreseeable future with the cream of the crop using December to rest and recuperate.
 And tennis’ best will also be unavailable next month with the staging of the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
 “We’re going to stick with Monfils and the rest of the line-up but we have to identify a window of opportunity where that is possible,” said Lewis in a telephone interview.
 Lewis’ younger brother Haydn, Barbados’ top ranked player, was also slated to participate in the series through singles matches against Isner and Monfils.
 “He’s obviously a bit disappointed with the postponement but it’s just one of those things you have to deal with in tennis,” said the elder Lewis of Haydn’s missed opportunity to play against two top 20 players.
 Haydn also appeared in last year’s inaugural tournament, which featured 13-time Grand Slam singles champ Serena Williams and current women’s top ranked player Caroline Wozniacki at the Wildey Gym and the Sugar Hill Resort.
