Britain names Davis Cup final team, no Bedene

By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - Britain named its team for next week's Davis Cup final against Belgium on Tuesday with no place for Aljaz Bedene whose hopes of being eligible for his adopted country were put on hold. Slovenian born Bedene, ranked 45th in the world, was granted a British passport earlier this year having lived in the country since 2008 and was appealing against a new International Tennis Federation (ITF) rule which says a player cannot play for more than one country in its flagship team competition. Bedene, who is allowed to play under the British flag on the ATP Tour, played in three ties for Slovenia, all dead rubbers. He was appealing on the basis that his passport application was lodged before the ITF changed the ruling. In a statement the ITF said that Bedene's application hearing, supported by the Lawn Tennis Association, had been adjourned until its next ITF Board of Directors meeting to be held on March 20-21 2016. Had Bedene been eligible for the final in Ghent it would have provided a dilemma for British captain Leon Smith who is one win away from guiding Britain to its first Davis Cup title since 1936. Bedene has shot up the rankings this year and is second only to world number three Andy Murray in Britain. Murray will shoulder Britain's hopes in Ghent, probably playing three rubbers throughout the weekend as he did against France in the quarter-finals and Australia in the semis, with Kyle Edmund and James Ward vying for the second singles berth. Doubles players Dom Inglot and Jamie Murray make up the rest of the squad with Dan Evans, who played in the semi-final against Australia, left out. The big question for Smith is whether to go with the experienced Ward or 20-year-old Edmund. Edmund did his cause no harm when he moved back into the world's top 100 last week by winning his third ATP Challenger Tour title of the year on the clay in Buenos Aires. However, Ward produced a memorable victory in the Davis Cup first round clash against the U.S. in San Diego, beating John Isner in five sets. "It's an historic ‎moment in British Tennis and I'm delighted to name these five players for the tie against Belgium," Smith said on the ITF website. "The team has had some incredible results this year, and we know that off the back of defeating the three other grand slam nations we carry great momentum going into the final, however we will ‎not underestimate the challenge in front of us." The tie begins on Nov. 27. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by John O'Brien and Justin Palmer)