Producing top male Tennis players has been a major struggle for Great Britain over the last half-century. Before Andy Murray’s US Open victory in 2012, it had been 76 years since a British man last won a Grand Slam singles title. Britain, the nation which invented the sport, are and have been been behind nations such as France, Spain, America, Germany, Croatia, The Czech Republic and Italy in terms of number of players ranked in the top 100 of the ATP tour.
The question that most people will be asking is : How did Great Britain beat the USA: the nation with the most Davis Cup wins, in the first round of the Davis Cup?
America are currently going through a ‘transition’ period in men’s Tennis. The likes of James Blake and 2003 US open champion Andy Roddick have recently retired, leaving gaps for young players such as Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock to fill. The USA were unlucky heading into the tie with Britain; their no.1 ranked player, John Isner, was unable to play due to an injury located in his size fifteen foot.
Having said this, the Americans had the advantage of playing at home which meant choosing the surface of the court; clay. The Brits’ win is all the more impressive considering clay is the surface that they are all least comfortable playing on and when you look at where the British team was before its captain, Leon Smith was appointed.
“This is a massive team effort,” Smith said after the victory.
“People don’t see the work off the court. We should be proud of the team spirit and what the guys have achieved here.
“I was saying to the guys during the week that we’ve used 11 different players over the last few years – a true team effort. It’s great to have this team spirit running through.”
Andy Murray is the player that Britain had to rely on during the tie, but it is James Ward who deserves to be recognized as Britain’s hero after playing way above his ranking to come back and upset big-hitting Sam Querrey.
“I did (believe I could fight back). It’s easy to say but I played him in the past and beat him in three sets.” said Ward, 26.
“At one point he was serving unbelievably and I couldn’t really get near him. I held serve from 0-40 and that was key. I started reading the serve a little bit better. It’s just a great win. I dug in and gave myself a chance. In the end it worked.
“I love playing for my country and it shows in my performance.”
Leon Smith has to be given credit for his surprising choice of Ward over up and coming 19 year-old, Kyle Edmund.
Britain will now visit Italy in April for the quarter-finals of the World group and the hosts will almost certainly make life hard for the Brits by having the tie contested on clay. The Italians defeated Argentina 3-1 in the first round of the tournament and will be confident going into their quarter-final matchup.
However, with Murray fit, James Ward producing his best tennis and the possibility of Ross Hutchins returning to his best, the Great Britain team has every chance of progressing deep into the latter stages of the tournament.
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