London 15th August : Andy Murray has been named in the British Davis Cup team for the group stage of the tournament in Glasgow the month following, but there’s no spot for the rising international star Jack Draper. Murray Joins Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and the world’s number one doubles player Joe Salisbury in the line-up for Britain’s games against United States, Kazakhstan, and the Netherlands at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
Murray has had a turbulent 2022, after he reached the final at ATP Stuttgart, but failed to advance through the second round of Wimbledon after losing to John Isner.He then fell to first-round defeats in Washington as well as in Montreal.
Twenty-year-old Draper has risen from outside the top 250 to reach 55 in the rankings over the course of this year however Murray who is eight spots higher was awarded the green light on Monday to give singles tennis competition to Wimbledon semi-finalist Norrie as well as 23rd-ranked Evans.
A fifth player will be added in the near future which will give Draper an opportunity to make a claim with doubles expert Neal Skupski, who won his sixth title of the season with Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof in Montreal on Sunday.
Murray will be playing in the tournament for the first time since 2019, having not played in the last edition back in November, when Britain fell to Germany in the quarterfinals.
He will be sure to receive a rousing reception when he arrives at his home, with Britain playing their matches on September 14, 16, and 18.
“It’s always special to play in the Davis Cup tie in front of an audience that is home,” Murray was quoted by DPA.
“Some of the best moments of my career have been playing for my country in the Davis Cup so to be member of the team once more is an incredible honor.Naturally, it’s exciting to know that the tournament is coming back to Glasgow.We’ve had some great performances in the city in the past, and this is yet another chance to make more historical records.We’ve got a solid team and we’ll do every effort to secure the victory to the supporters and secure our spot in the finals.”
Norrie has taken over Murray in the position of British No.1 and has made it through to the semis of Wimbledon for the first time, ahead of losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.But it’s not all 26-year-old’s way however, as he was beaten in the Canadian Open quarter-finals by Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“Coming into the Davis Cup as the British No.1 — it can’t get any more impressive than that,” he explained.
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