ATP World Doubles brought forward

The ATP world doubles tournament due to be staged in Bangalore has been brought forward and will be held on the original dates of November 7-11, an Indian tennis official said on Thursday.

The tournament had been moved to the third week of November to avoid a clash with the first Afro-Asian Games in New Delhi, but the earlier dates have now been restored after the Games were postponed, said Anil Khanna, secretary of the All India Tennis Association (AITA),

The Indian officials secured a postponement of the doubles event because they wanted India's former world number one pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to play in the Games, which were due to be staged from November 3-11.

But the Games have been postponed indefinitely because of security concerns following the attacks in the United States earlier this month.

"We decided this after the Afro-Asian Games were cancelled. (The) ATP agreed to our request because it was also convenient for them to have it on the original dates," said Khanna.