In the end, the only tie that Great Britain’s Davis Cup team could win in Glasgow was the dead rubber against Kazakhstan – and they only just managed that. Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, the doubles pairing that arguably should have played in all three of Great Britain’s ties, eventually won a match of three tie-breaks against Alexander Bublik and Aleksandr Nedovyesov to give Britain a 2-1 win over the Kazaks. Nevertheless, it was not enough for Team GB to advance to the final eight of the Davis Cup after their earlier defeats to the USA and the Netherlands.
Was This Britain’s Strongest Ever Davis Cup Squad?
The disappointment for the British team – or rather squad – was that it was probably the strongest one ever assembled. In the singles, they had an in-form Dan Evans and Cam Norrie, who is fast establishing himself as a genuine top 10 player. And in the doubles, they were even stronger, with both the doubles World No.1, Joe Salisbury, and the doubles World No.2, Neal Skupski. Finally, as a trump card they had Andy Murray, arguably the greatest British tennis player ever (only Fred Perry can seriously compete with him for that title), who could play either singles, or doubles, or both.
The real testament to the strength of the squad was the number of fine British players who did not make it. In the singles, both Jack Draper, who has recently entered the world’s top 50, and Kyle Edmund, who has recently returned to the ATP Tour after nearly two years out through injury, were not included. And in the doubles, the considerable options available to Leon Smith, the Great Britain Davis Cup Captain, meant that he could afford to leave out Jamie Murray, a former doubles World No.1 and winner of multiple Major titles in both men’s and mixed doubles.
Only On Paper
Unfortunately, as the events in Glasgow proved, this was only Britain’s strongest ever Davis Cup squad on paper; in reality, they were undeserving of such an accolade. In the first two ties against the USA and the Netherlands, Dan Evans and Cam Norrie could only win one singles match each, and in the doubles the pairing of Joe Salisbury and Andy Murray could not win even one match, going down – albeit extremely narrowly – against both the US and Dutch pairings.
After Great Britain had crashed out of the Davis Cup on Friday, following their loss to the Netherlands, Leon Smith was at pains to defend his selections, especially in the doubles. He told the BBC: “Is it controversial to put Andy Murray out there on the court here in Glasgow? I don’t think so. We believed that was the right thing to do, and that’s on me.” After becoming the first British Davis Cup Captain to win the tournament since the 1930s (i.e. since the era of Perry), Smith is perfectly entitled to defend his selections, especially of Andy Murray. Nevertheless, there remain questions to be asked if Britain are to perform better in the Davis Cup in future.
The Smith-Andy Murray Axis
The Smith-Andy Murray axis, or at least partnership, has been absolutely crucial to the improvement in Britain’s Davis Cup fortunes over the last decade or so. Smith was originally appointed to the post largely on the approval of Murray, having been one of his earliest coaches in Scotland. And they certainly achieved enormous success initially, culminating in Great Britain’s historic triumph in the 2015 Final, when Murray, at the top of his game and played playing both singles and doubles, was virtually a one-man team; most of the support that he received came from his brother, Jamie, in doubles.
Great Britain returned to the Davis Cup semi-finals the following year, where Andy Murray only narrowly lost an epic five-setter against Argentina’s Juan-Martin del Potro. And in 2019, the first year of the revamped Davis Cup tournament, Smith again led Great Britain (with the injury-ravaged Murray playing a much more limited role than before) to the semi-finals, where they only narrowly lost out to hosts and eventual winners Spain.
Nevertheless, for the first time perhaps, serious questions must be asked about the Smith-Murray relationship that has been so instrumental in returning Great Britain to the top of international team tennis. Was Smith too loyal to Murray, the man to whom he largely owed his job in the first place, in picking him for two doubles matches ahead of Neal Skupski, who has literally been second only to Joe Salisbury on the doubles circuit this year? Smith would obviously deny it, but he would also not be human if he didn’t wonder whether he had perhaps let his heart rule his head in continuing with Murray in the doubles after the first tie was lost to the USA.
A Fully Fit Andy Murray Would Have Made All The Difference – But Will He Ever Be Fully Fit Again?
A fully fit Andy Murray would almost certainly have made all the difference to Great Britain’s Davis Cup fortunes in Glasgow. However, after more than five years of persistent injuries, which have almost led him to retire at least once, it is extraordinarily unlikely that Andy Murray will ever be fully fit again. And that is probably the biggest source of frustration for Leon Smith, Murray himself and the rest of the GB squad. Seven years ago, Murray virtually won the Davis Cup on his own. This time around, when he had the kind of squad around him that he could only have dreamed of having in 2015, he himself was no longer able to compete at the very highest level, at least not in doubles. Consequently, for future editions of the Davis Cup, starting next year, Leon Smith may have to start thinking about rebuilding his squad without the man who did so much to help him secure his job in the first place.
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