Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Security remained tight at the British Davis Cup team flew into Belgium yesterday on two specially chartered private jets and headed straight for the Flanders Expo for three hours of practice on the newly dropped-in indoor clay court.

The site for the final was being used for an international food fair over the weekend but was transformed overnight Sunday with the erection of four large temporary stands that will seat the 13,000 spectators expected on each of the three days.

Also better defined security measures means Thursday’s draw ceremony will be switched to the actual site of the final rather than the originally planned historic city center music venue.

In Brussels 35 miles away, the threat of a terrorist attack was still classified at the highest level by the Belgian government for a third day: serious and imminent. The rest of the country, Ghent included, remained one level down.

Yet although Belgian authorities have advised the public to avoid places where there’s a high concentration of people, the Flemish Tennis Federation insist they are confident the final will go ahead. FTF chief executive Gijs Kooken said he was in regular contact with the government and said: “I’ve not yet had a signal it’s not safe to organize the event.”

The latest statement from the International Tennis Federation read: “In consultation with the relevant officials and our risk assessment and security advisers, we are closely monitoring the situation in Belgium and specifically in Ghent. As of today there are no changes to the previously published start times for the Davis Cup.”

If things do go ahead as planned, with play beginning at on Friday at 12.30pm GMT, sniffer dogs and explosive experts will constantly patrol the venue. Spectators will be informed they will have to leave all bags in lockers outside the entrance. Neither food nor drink will be allowed inside the Flanders Expo.

However the International Federation said: “As of today there are no changes to the previously published start times for the Davis Cup.”

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.