British Davis Cup team captain Leon Smith has underlined no one is guaranteed a spot in the team, not even the great Andy Murray. In the Davis Cup Finals group stage – scheduled for September – Great Britain will take on the USA, Kazakhstan and Netherlands in Glasgow.
For many years, Murray was the face of British tennis and led the nation to a Davis Cup victory in 2015. Now 35 years old, Murray is past his prime as he is still battling to return to the top of the game following two major hip surgeries.
“(It’s not just the) problem and difficult decision around who gets to play on each match-day – in the two singles and the doubles – even just picking the squad takes a lot of thought,” Smith said, per Eurosport.
“I’ve got relationships in varying ways with all of the players. I go a long way back with Andy, in particular, but my job is to look at it objectively and to do whatever I can to win. You pick on merit. You pick on a multitude of factors – form, match-ups against the opposition, surface, fitness, health…
everything goes into it. All I know is that it’s a good problem to have that we’ve got such a high calibre of player across both the singles and doubles.”
Smith: Murray has helped us a lot over the years
Murray has always been nothing but a great servant to the British Davis Cup captain.
Murray has always been willing to represent Great Britain and he has always been there for rising British stars that need tips and advice. Smith respects Murray and the contribution he has made to the British Davis Cup team over the years.
“Andy played a pivotal role in giving everyone hope that something was possible. He didn’t just do it on the court – winning major titles – he also gave back a lot. That’s something with the culture that you want the others to do. I’m really pleased to see that culture is there,” Smith added.
