Tennis

There is to be two months' breathing space between the Australian Open and the first round of the Davis Cup in 1998 and 1999. The International Tennis Federation and the ATP Tour have agreed that Davis Cup matches will move from February to March. The second round will be switched from March to the week after Wimbledon in July.

Britain's Chris Wilkinson suffered a 6-1, 6-3 first-round defeat to the No 8 seed, Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, yesterday in the Hall of Fame tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.