As world No1 Andy Murray continues to rehab the elbow injury that took him out of the Miami Masters in Florida this week, it will fall to the British Nos2 and 3, Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund, to carry British hopes in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in 10 days’ time.
Murray has played just one match since winning the Dubai Duty Free Championships, losing his opener in Indian Wells a fortnight ago, and the Briton subsequently headed back to the UK to consult with doctors about the injury.
The team nominated today by captain Leon Smith therefore comprises:
Dan Evans (rank 43), Kyle Edmund (rank 45), Jamie Murray (doubles rank No7), and Dominic Inglot (doubles rank 45).
Smith commented:
“In Dan and Kyle we have two top-50 singles players who are improving all the time on the tour and both with games capable of upsetting higher ranked opponents.”
Evans reached the final in Sydney at the start of the year, beating Dominic Thiem along the way, and made the fourth round at the Australian Open, beating Marin Cilic. Edmund came up just short of beating No3 Stan Wawrinka in Brisbane’s quarter-finals, and did the same against Milos Raonic in the quarters in Delray Beach.
Smith went on:
“Jamie and Dom once again combine as our doubles team and will draw much confidence after performing so well recently to win key rubbers against Serbia and Canada to defeat Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil.
“Not having Andy in the side is obviously a big loss to our team but most importantly we all wish him well for a speedy recovery back to full health and fitness. I know that he would really want to be here with the rest of the team.”
The good news for GB is that they will face a below-par French squad: Three of their top four players are absent. No10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also pulled out of Miami to attend the birth of his daughter, while No11 Gael Monfils has a knee injury and No22 Richard Gasquet is recovering from an appendectomy.
Even so France, which boasts 11 players in the top 100 and five in the top 30, is still a formidable force. The line-up will be headed by No15 Lucas Pouille, backed by No25 Gilles Simon. In addition, the tie will be played in France, on clay, and will include one of the world’s most successful doubles teams in No1 Nicolas Mahut and No6 Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Smith admitted:
“Facing France in a Davis Cup tie is a tough test for any group of players and this Rouen quarter-final will be no exception. They have the strongest depth of squad out of any nation in the competition.”
Great Britain and France are meeting for the 22nd time, and last faced each other at the Queen’s Club in 2015 as GB headed to the title. The winners will face either Serbia or Spain in the semi-finals on 15-17 September.
Aside from Pouille, other top-20 names heading their nation’s campaign are No2 Novak Djokovic for Serbia, though he is currently absent from the Miami draw with an elbow injury, No12 David Goffin for Belgium, No17 Jack Sock for the USA, No16 Nick Kyrgios for Australia, and No19 Pablo Carreno Busta for Spain.
World Group quarter-finals: 7-9 April
Draws will be held on Thursday 6 April
France v GB
Venue: Kindarena, Rouen (indoor clay)
France
Lucas Pouille
Gilles Simon
Nicolas Mahut
Pierre-Hugues Herbert
GB
Daniel Evans
Kyle Edmund
Jamie Murray
Dominic Inglot
Belgium v Italy
Venue: Spiroudome de Charleroi, Charleroi (indoor hard)
Belgium
David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Ruben Bemelmans
Joris de Loore
Italy
Paolo Lorenzi
Fabio Fognini
Andreas Seppi
Simone Bolelli
Australia v USA
Venue: Pat Rafter Arena, Brisbane (outdoor hard)
Australia
Nick Kyrgios
Jordan Thompson
Sam Groth
John Peers
USA
Jack Sock
John Isner
Sam Querrey
Steve Johnson
Serbia v Spain
Venue: Aleksandar Nikolic Arena, Belgrade (indoor hard)
Serbia
Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki
Dusan Lajovic
Spain
Pablo Carreno Busta
Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Marcel Granollers
Marc Lopez