i am pretty ignorant on this topic. but a part of me thinks the itf surely must have thought the decision through. what they are saying the region is relatively safe and any extremists have no particular beef against the australians which would make them a specific target for any attacks. i almost think well why doesn't a serb player or a croat or a greek etc not play the australian open, look at the clashes that have gone on there recently? they too could point to security concerns at a tennis venue. having lived in australia for a couple of years it sounds a little hypocritical or trying to take a moral high-horse. no venue anywhere in the world could give the australians a 100% guarantee of safety. be it india, indonesia, australia, usa etc etc