"My job is to look at it objectively" - Murray not guaranteed to play Davis Cup according to team coach

"My job is to look at it objectively" - Murray not guaranteed to play Davis Cup according to team coach

by Balasz Virag

Last updated

Leon Smith is the Great Britain's Davis Cup coach and he also led the team to the title in 2015 when also Andy Murray was part of the squad.

In 2022, Smith will face a tough decision when choosing the team. Currently, Andy Murray is the third highest-ranked player from Great Britain and two lower-ranked players, Jack Draper and Ryan Peniston enjoyed great weeks on grass and so there are many names to choose from for the Davis Cup team.

However, the event will be played in Glasgow and so the two-time Wimbledon champion can also attract more Scottish fans to attend the event. When speaking about the choice of players, Smith admitted that it's not going to be an easy task.

“(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. 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.“

Leon Smith

"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."

Leon Smith

"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.”

Leon Smith

"What Andy sparked is really important and we now have this nucleus. Is it the strongest squad? If you look at the ranking breakdown of all the singles and doubles, yeah, it definitely will be. Regardless of who goes out there, I know the atmosphere is going to be great, whether it's Andy or Cam Norrie, who has a Scottish background as well.

Leon Smith

“Dan Evans has been brilliant through Davis Cup years. We've got the No 1 player in the world in doubles, Joe Salisbury. We've got Neal Skupski, Jamie (Murray) - a multiple Grand Slammer. Whatever happens, and whoever goes out there - not just for our team, but others in the group - the fans are going to see some unbelievable tennis.”

Leon Smith

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