Davis Cup

Australia’s 3-0 success against Switzerland on Sunday sent them through to the final eight week in Malaga in November, and the winner of the final group clash at Manchester’s AO Arena will join them.

Britain have performed excellently so far, beating Australia and Switzerland 2-1, but the nature of the other results means only another win will be enough.

Captain Leon Smith has used all four of his singles players across the two ties so far and now faces a tricky decision about who to field on Sunday.

Jack Draper and Dan Evans both claimed strong wins against Australia while Andy Murray ground out an epic win against young Swiss Leandro Riedi before Cameron Norrie was beaten by Stan Wawrinka.

“Everyone’s played now,” said Smith. “We’ve got a full deck of cards to play with on Sunday. Ultimately we’ll go with what we think’s the best option for Sunday but everyone’s available, everybody’s ready to go.

“You’re not always going to get the decisions right, and there’s not a right answer most of the time. You can look at match-ups as much as you want but there’s other equations in there.

“Genuinely this time round it feels like everyone’s in it together in the right way, everyone’s been totally accepting of any decisions that I’ve made. There’s not been any ill feeling towards it at all.

“There’s always going to be disappointment because these guys are great players, they all want to play.”

Draper and Evans, who will also play in the doubles rubber with Neal Skupski, are perhaps the front runners, although Murray famously has a great record against both French players and left-handers and has won all three of his previous meetings with number two Adrian Mannarino.

A crowd of more than 13,000, a record for a single day of Davis Cup action in the UK, is expected.

Draper’s run to the fourth round of the US Open earned him not just a second Great Britain call-up but a first appearance, with Smith picking him ahead of his top-ranked player Cameron Norrie and former world number one Andy Murray for the opening tie of the group stage.

The 21-year-old fully justified his captain’s faith, thrilling a 9,000-strong crowd at the AO Arena by breaking Kokkinakis when he served for the match then coming from 4-2 down in the deciding tie-break to win 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-6 (4) after two hours and 52 minutes.

Evans then took to the court against world number 12 Alex De Minaur, the highest-ranked player in the four-team group.

Evans has struggled for long periods this season but found his form on the North American hard courts with a title in Washington and a strong performance against Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open.

And he extended his tour-level winning record against De Minaur to 3-0 with a 6-1 2-6 6-4 victory, staying strong after the Australian fought back from 4-1 in the decider.

That gave Britain an unassailable lead, with a top-two spot in the group needed to secure progress to the quarter-finals and matches against Switzerland and France still to come this week.

“It’s a really good day for us,” said Smith. “Extremely difficult Aussie team but we’re difficult too. Jack showed again what he’s capable of, both in quality but also the heart and competitiveness he’s got. To steal it at the end when Kokkinakis served for it shows a lot of character. It’s a really good win for him.

“I said to Dan I think it’s one of the best matches I’ve seen him play, I thought he was absolutely brilliant against one of the in-form players on the tour. I just think Dan was amazing but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Australia avoided a clean sweep, with former Wimbledon champions Matt Ebden and Max Purcell defeating Evans and Neal Skupski 7-6 (5) 6-4 in the doubles rubber to make the final score 2-1.

For most of his long tenure, Smith’s team, based around Murray, virtually picked itself. Greater options have left him with more difficult decisions and he was criticised for his selection at the same stage last year, when Britain made an early exit.

There will have been great satisfaction for the Scot, therefore, in the performance of Draper, who has been kept off court for much of the season by a string of frustrating injuries but carried the confidence of his run in New York into this clash against another 6ft 4in heavyweight in Kokkinakis.

It was a match of a few crucial moments, with Draper missing a set point at 4-5 in the opening set and then unable to take advantage of momentum at the start of the decider. He looked in big trouble when he dropped serve at 4-4 before staging a rousing comeback.

Of his selection, Draper said: “Leon told me a couple of days ago. He said he wanted me to be out there and that he believed in me.

“I knew I’d played some tough matches at the US Open and I felt really good about my tennis. That helped the nerves a lot. I haven’t played too many great matches this season but I think that was one of them.

Evans admitted to nerves, too, but was proud of his performance, saying: “It means a lot. I played good tennis, I executed what we spoke about and I did it to pretty much as good as I’ve got. It was still a battle, no part of the match was easy, and that was for me the impressive thing that I pulled through.”

Australia, who made the final of the competition last year, must bounce back quickly for a must-win clash against France on Thursday, when the crowd is likely to be a fraction of what it was for this tie.

Captain and former world number one Lleyton Hewitt is a long-standing critic of the move away from the traditional home-and-away format, and he said: “We’ve just taken the great things away from what made this competition so special. It doesn’t feel the same.”

Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson beat the Olympic champion pair of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the deciding doubles to earn a 2-1 team victory and set up a showdown on Sunday against Canada or Italy.

Borna Coric got the better of Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first rubber on Friday, earning a 6-4 6-3 victory to put Croatia in the driving seat.

After a shock title success at the Cincinnati Masters in August, Coric was looking to end his year on another huge career high.

However, Marin Cilic could not seal the deal for Croatia as he slumped 6-2 6-2 to Alex de Minaur in the surprisingly one-sided tussle that followed.

De Minaur broke the Cilic serve four times and held his own throughout, typically with plenty of comfort, as he took down the 2014 US Open champion.

That meant the contest came down to the doubles, and Purcell and Thompson held their nerve in a gargantuan battle with Mektic and Pavic, coming from behind to score a 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4 victory.

"I couldn't be prouder of the whole team," team captain Hewitt said, quoted on Tennis Australia's website.

"We knew we were the underdogs coming into this today and we like being in that position. It's a place I really enjoyed as a player and also as a captain."

Hewitt was a star of the team when Australia last won the Davis Cup or even made the final, all the way back in 2003. That was the country's 28th triumph in the competition, and now they have a chance to go after number 29.

"To put us in the final, that feeling, I can't describe it," said Thompson.

Canada face Italy on Saturday in the second semi-final.

Play at the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon in Jounieh got underway of Friday with Benjamin Hassan taking on Jamaica’s Rowland “Randy” Phillips in singles.

Hassan, Lebanon’s highest ranked ATP singles player at 209, took a tight first set 7-5 before completing a straight-sets win with a 6-3 score-line in the second set.

It was then time for Jamaica’s highest ranked player, Blaise Bicknell, to see if he could level proceedings with a win over Hady Habib.

The pair played out a tight first set, eventually needing a tiebreak at 6-6 with Habib taking it 7 points to five over the Jamaican world number 430.

The second set was far less competitive, with Habib taking it 6-1 to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

On Saturday, Phillips and Bicknell were first up in doubles taking on Habib and Hassan.

The Lebanese took the first set 6-2 before the Jamaicans rallied to take the second 6-3. Lebanon’s pair then held their nerve to take the decider 6-3 and take a 3-0 lead in the tie.

The fourth match saw Mustapha El Natour secure a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win over Jamaica’s Daniel Azar.

The former world number one is among a five-man team for this week’s group stage in Manchester, along with Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper and Neal Skupski.

Quite what Murray’s role will be remains to be seen and, speaking after his disappointing second-round loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the US Open, the Scot questioned whether he deserved his place.

But the 36-year-old cut a much more positive figure at a press conference at the AO Arena on Monday, saying: “At that moment, straight as I came off the court, I wasn’t in a great place after losing in a slam.

“I said (to captain Leon Smith), if I’m not needed, I completely get that. But, for whatever reason, he asked me to come and I said I would come.

“I’ve always loved playing Davis Cup and any event where you’re competing for your country. We have a great group of guys, I love being part of this team, we’ve got great staff as well. Everyone gets on extremely well.

“I do genuinely believe the team can win the event. That’s huge motivation to be a part of it. I want to help the team in any way I can, whether that’s on the court or off. We’ll see what happens.”

Britain have been drawn in an intriguing group with Australia, France and Switzerland and must finish in the top two to book their spot at the finals week in Malaga in November.

It is now eight years since Murray led Britain to the Davis Cup title virtually single-handed.

There is no doubt Britain have a stronger overall team now, but with that come selection difficulties for Smith and he faced criticism for choosing Murray and Joe Salisbury as his doubles pair as they crashed out at the same stage in Glasgow 12 months ago.

Salisbury won his third consecutive US Open title with American Rajeev Ram on Saturday but did not make the team, with Smith likely to rely on Skupski and Evans in doubles, while the most intriguing question mark is whether he will throw in 21-year-old Draper fresh from his run to the fourth round in New York.

He has had a hugely frustrating season with injuries but is a major talent who will surely lead the team in the not-too-distant future, while Norrie and Evans have both had patchy seasons.

“I think we’ve got our best five here,” said Smith. “Obviously we’ve got strength in depth, especially on the doubles side. In terms of selection for the matches, it’s good. You want a strong squad, different options, because it is a long week. I’m just delighted they’re all here.”

Draper was named in the team for the first time for February’s tricky assignment away in Colombia, where victory secured their progress to this point.

“I feel great,” said the Londoner, who was hitting with fit-again former British number one Kyle Edmund on Monday.

“Obviously New York gave me a real boost after quite a tough season. When Leon asked me to join the guys I was really excited and wanted to be here.

“I haven’t been part of a Davis Cup group playing at home. It’s amazing to be part of this team and I’m very grateful for the selection and happy to be around these boys for sure.”

Britain’s biggest challenge is likely to come on Wednesday when they take on last year’s runners-up Australia, led by in-form world number 12 Alex de Minaur.

Crowds of around 8,000 are expected for that tie and the one on Friday against Stan Wawrinka’s Switzerland, while a sell-out of more than 13,000 on Sunday for the final match against France will be the biggest for a Davis Cup contest in Britain.

There are other groups taking place in Bologna, Split and Valencia, where Serbia and Spain will do battle, although a Wimbledon final rematch between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will no longer happen following the Spaniard’s withdrawal.

The 21-year-old again showed his huge potential by outperforming the rest of Britain’s singles players in New York, pushing eighth seed Andrey Rublev to four sets before bowing out on Monday.

Draper has struggled with injuries throughout the season and was a doubt for the US Open because of a shoulder problem so it was encouraging that his body held up through four best-of-five-set matches.

He joins Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Andy Murray and Neal Skupski in the side for matches against Australia, Switzerland and France beginning next Wednesday at the AO Arena.

It is the second time Leon Smith has called up Draper, who stayed on the bench during February’s victory over Colombia.

His inclusion presents captain Smith with a tricky selection decision given Norrie, Evans and Murray are significantly more experienced but none of the trio have had a great season, with British number one Norrie in particular in something of a rut.

Calling up Draper also indicates that Smith will rely on Wimbledon champion Skupski and Evans as his doubles partnership having overlooked Joe Salisbury, who is in the quarter-finals in New York with American partner Rajeev Ram.

Britain need to finish in the top two of the four-team group to make it through to the final stages of the competition in Malaga in November.

Estonia are currently ranked 59^th in the world, ten spots ahead of the Jamaicans.

“The Estonia team is very good. On paper they have some rankings that are higher than us but that’s just on paper,” Spence said at a press conference on Thursday.

"We have the home court advantage and I think that’s going to push us through,” he added.

Spence noted that the Jamaican team comprising Blaise Bicknell, Jacob Bicknell, Daniel Azar, Randy Phillips and John Chin has been performing well for a while.

“I’m very confident in them. They’ve been playing very good tennis over the last six months to a year and they’ve gelled well. It’s basically the same team that we’ve had before. We have a tough opponent ahead of us but we’ve played tough opponents before and come out on top,” he said.

While the team can’t be together until a few days before the tie, Spence noted the amount of preparation that some members of the team are getting by competing for their universities overseas.

“Within their respective teams they’ll play matches against their other teammates but they just started the season so I’d say they play an average of two matches a week against other schools. That’s plenty of preparation for them.”

21-year-old Blaise Bicknell currently represents the University of Tennessee while Chin, 19, represents Boise State University. Bicknell is currently the highest ranked Jamaican on the ATP Tour at 764.

The Jamaicans advanced to World Group II after defeating Estonia 3-2 in a playoff tie at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston from February 4-5.

Lebanon fell into World Group II, where they will ne the seventh seed, after losing 3-1 to Ukraine in the Group I playoffs on February 2-3 in Poland.

The tie will be played in September and is a Lebanon home fixture.

After Rowland Phillips won his match over Krisjtian Tamm 6-1, 6-1 and Blaise Bicknell defeated Kenneth Raisma 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Saturday, the Estonian doubles team of Raisma and Jurgen Zopp pulled one back on Sunday when they defeated John Chin and Daniel Azar in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday.

However, things took a turn for the worst for the visitors in match four when Blaise Bicknell defeated Tamm by default to hand Jamaica an unassailable lead.

Blaise Bicknell won his tie-breaker against Tamm, who hit the centre-line judge out of frustration and picking up a default as a result effectively handing the Jamaicans the match.

The visiting team won some consolation when Johannes Seaman defeated Jacob Bicknell 6-1, 6-0 to end the tie 3-2 in favour of the Jamaicans.

When Sinner was staring at three match points on Saturday with Italy 1-0 down to Serbia, it appeared hugely improbable that he would be lifting the trophy 24 hours later.

But the world number four somehow recovered to defeat Djokovic, repeated the feat in doubles along with Lorenzo Sonego and then saw off Australia’s Alex De Minaur 6-3 6-0 on Sunday to clinch a 2-0 victory.

That sparked joyous celebrations among Sinner’s team-mates and the Italian-dominant crowd at a packed and vibrant Palacio de Deportes Martin Carpena in Malaga.

The victory earns Italy just their second Davis Cup title after success in 1976 as they continue to reap rewards from their heavy investment in men’s tennis in recent years, while for Australia it was more disappointment after their 2-0 loss to Canada in the final 12 months ago.

In Sinner, Italy have a potential superstar and it was fitting that it was the 22-year-old, who had won both singles and doubles rubbers in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, was the man to seal it.

Given Australia’s strength in doubles, though, the crucial win may have been Matteo Arnaldi’s in the opening rubber against Alexei Popyrin.

Nerves were all too evident in a clash of two young players inexperienced in the unique pressure-cooker of Davis Cup but it was 22-year-old Arnaldi who ultimately handled it better to win 7-5 2-6 6-4.

Popyrin, 24, seemed to have a grip on the match after losing the opening set and had eight break points in the decider but Arnaldi was rewarded for bold play at the big moments and it was his opponent who tightened up when it really mattered.

A tearful Arnaldi said: “It’s very emotional, more because a very important person passed away a month ago for me and my girlfriend so this is for him. I think now I won one of the most important matches in my life.

“I’m sorry for Alexei, because he deserved to win, for sure. He was playing better. But sometimes Davis (Cup) is like this. I had my team cheering a lot, and I think that helped a lot.”

Popyrin was distraught, saying: “It’s heartbreaking. I let it slip, and it hurts.”

De Minaur has a strong record in the competition but he went into the must-win clash knowing he had lost all five previous matches against Sinner.

The schedule was in his favour having had a day to prepare following a comfortable semi-final victory over Finland and there was a real spring in his step as he took to the court.

But Sinner’s big weapons quickly began to dictate proceedings, with the Italian breaking his rival’s serve twice in the opening set.

Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt, part of the team the last time they won the title 20 years ago, tried to inspire De Minaur to a comeback but this was Sinner’s moment.

King and Lewis rallied from a set down to secure victory 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

The tie was locked at 1-1 after Saturday's opening day which saw Bicknell beating Kaipo Marshall 6-1 3-6 6-1 and King edging Phillips in a 6-3 3-6 7-5 thriller.

The Jamaican pair edged a very tight first set, after breaking Lewis' serve in the seventh game, before they closed it out at the second opportunity by again breaking the Barbadians in the ninth.

While the first set had just one break of serve, there were three in the second with Barbados claiming two in the third and seventh games before King served out the set at love.

It set up a blockbuster third set and it was Barbados who held their nerve on the back of an outstanding performance from Lewis.

The lefty volleyed and returned superbly and then closed it out with precision serving.

"I have been in this situation a lot of times and I understand Darian, he's been my partner for many years, so I know that he can get down, so a lot of times I have to be the one to take control."

The 38-year-old has been representing Barbados at this level for 22 years and he drew on all his experience in the final set.

He was clinical in the decider, controlling the big moments when others seemed indecisive.

Overall it was a high quality match, with all four players having their moments.

King saved four set points when serving down 1-2 in the third, pulling out the marathon game despite a controversial line call unfortunately going against them.

Another big moment was when the Jamaicans saved four break points when Phillips was serving at 3-3, but Barbados ultimately won the marathon game after 20 minutes, which was the crucial break needed to take the match.

Blaise Bicknell is currently facing Darian King in the first reverse singles, a match Jamaica must win to stay alive in the tie, and remain in Group II.

Three-time grand slam winner Barty made the surprise decision to retire in March, aged just 25, after securing the Australian Open title only two months earlier.

The former world number one was subsequently recognised with the highest individual honour in Australian tennis as she won her fifth consecutive Newcombe Medal on Monday.

Kyrgios, who won the Australian Open doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis, became the first male Australian finalist at Wimbledon since Mark Philippoussis (2003) in July, but fell to defeat against Novak Djokovic.

The 27-year-old, then 40th in the world, was also the lowest-ranked grand slam male finalist since Marcos Baghdatis (54) at the Australian Open in 2006.

After the announcement of Barty's individual recognition, Kyrgios took to Instagram to question the decision.

"LOL. No respect at all. Don't give a f***," he wrote before including a comparison of his 2022 victories to Barty's year.

It is not the first time Kyrgios has spoken out against Australian tennis, previously suggesting it was an "easy decision" to snub the Davis Cup to play at the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition event in Riyadh.

Kyrgios may take some consolation, though, after being named with Kokkinakis as the Fans' Favourite doubles team in the 2022 ATP Awards.

He responded to the announcement on Instagram, adding: "Obviously lol."

The 27-year-old is competing at the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition event in Riyadh, with the three-day, 12-man event coming with a prize of $1million for the winner.

Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt and Australia number one Alex de Minaur have both revealed they tried to persuade Kyrgios to compete in Malaga last month, with their attempts ultimately being in vain.

The Wimbledon finalist referenced the negativity he has endured in his career from his homeland as a reason for his snub, saying participation in the Davis Cup "doesn't really make sense".

Australia ended up finishing as runners-up to Canada.

"Maybe if Australia embraced me a little bit more, I would play it and bring home the trophy. But who knows? At this point of my career, I'll always do what's best for me," Kyrgios told AAP News.

"I can travel around the world playing exhibitions around this time of year for six figures - you know I feel I put myself in that position - so it's an easy one for me.

"I'll easily take time with my family and my girlfriend and enjoy experiences around the world and earn that type of money rather than play a week away in something where I wouldn't be able to be with my girlfriend and I'm not getting paid that well.

"[That] doesn't really make sense to me and my progression as an athlete."

Asked whether he could envisage himself playing in the Davis Cup again, he added: "Maybe, who knows?

"Adding another week in Europe in Malaga wasn't really what was on my wish list. If it was in Australia, maybe it would have been a different story. But who knows?

"It's not always easy for me to erase everything in Australia that's said negatively about me or my family, you don't need that - so it's interesting that they really want me to play, but are always criticising.

"Look, I've always been one of the best players in the world - I’ve always held up my fair share of the bargain towards Australia. 

"I feel like this is the first year I've earned respect when it should have been given when I first came on tour.

"I've represented them, put them on the map, and having produced one of the most successful male years in the last decade for Australia, and am only just getting embraced [now] - I don't think that's my fault."

Needing victory in their final tie at a sold-out AO Arena in Manchester to reach the knock-out stages, it went all the way to a final-set tie-break in the last rubber, with Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saving four match points against Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin before triumphing 1-6 7-6 (4) 7-6 (6).

When a final French return flew long, Evans and Skupski fell to court before leaping into each others’ arms then celebrating with the rest of the team.

Evans was Britain’s key man across the three ties, winning four rubbers, including two against France having battled from behind to see off teenager Arthur Fils in the opening singles.

“It was nuts,” said the 33-year-old. “The singles is the singles and I feel comfortable on that court but the doubles was chaos. I just kept saying to Neal, ‘We’ve got a chance, we’ve got a chance’. We both kept going. We stuck together.

“It was an amazing day, an amazing feeling. Emotional more than anything. You want to be with these guys in the finals and you know what happens if you lose, it’s not ideal being at home as well. You feel that. It’s an immensely proud moment for me and the team.”

Evans talked after beating Fils about how attending Davis Cup matches as a boy in Birmingham had made him want to play professional tennis and this was his 25th tie across 14 years.

His has been one of the more tumultuous careers in British tennis and last year he annoyed captain Leon Smith and his team-mates by publicly airing his grievances about not being picked in doubles after Britain crashed out in the group stage in Glasgow.

Smith gave the 33-year-old a chance alongside Skupski in February’s play-off in Colombia, where they claimed an important victory, and two wins in decisive rubbers this time have seen him put his money where his mouth is.

Smith remains unhappy with the way Evans made his point, saying: “Am I glad he did it? No I’m not glad he did it and he knows that.

“You can’t get every decision right as captain. What’s important I think is how we came together not just here but when we were in Colombia together.

“I’ve always known Evo and Neal are a good pair. That’s why I think what’s happened this week is really good for us because it was really, really disappointing last year, it hurt a lot.

“Everyone feels it, it comes out in different ways. But for me the most important thing is moving forwards. Me and Evo are great and the team spirit has been brilliant.”

Having a strong doubles team is central to success in the new Davis Cup format, where ties are played over three rubbers rather than five.

Tuesday’s draw will determine who Britain face in the final eight week in Malaga from November 21-26, although they already know it will either be Italy or Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.

Whoever they come up against, Smith will believe that his team, with its improved strength in depth, can have a chance of matching their historic 2015 title run, when Andy and Jamie Murray made it virtually a family affair.

“It’s absolutely brilliant we’re going to Malaga,” said Smith. “We’ve definitely got a chance. We’ve got a really good team.

“We had the benefit at one point of having the best player in the world in our team. Obviously Jamie and Andy doing those things and winning a lot of matches, then the others pitched in and we became really strong.

“We’ve got a chance against anybody. It’s really tight, matches can go either way. Every single tie we’ve had here could have gone either way.”

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The only negative was two defeats for British number one Cameron Norrie, whose Davis Cup record now stands at an underwhelming seven wins and seven losses.

Norrie’s lack of recent wins was evident in Sunday’s loss to Ugo Humbert, where he played well for long periods but made errors at key moments, including double-faulting on match point.

Smith is not concerned, though, saying: “He’s amazing. He works his socks off. Every practice this week – bang on it. Every time you watch him, his intensity, his focus, his discipline.

“Some parts will just go like that. But that’s why he’s got top 10, why he’s top 20, because he goes at it every single day. He’ll be fine. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing.”

Britain began their campaign at a packed AO Arena on Wednesday with a 2-1 upset victory over last year’s runners-up Australia.

That gave them a great chance of righting the wrongs of last year, when they were eliminated after only two matches of the group stage in Glasgow, and progressing to finals week in Malaga in November but there is still a lot of work to do.

Switzerland, led by three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka, are already in the last-chance saloon having lost 3-0 to France in their opener on Tuesday.

“This is just the start, that’s what we talked about,” said captain Smith after watching debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans pull off impressive wins against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex De Minaur, respectively.

“We’ve got a massive match on Friday against Switzerland, who obviously lost 3-0 so they’re going to have to come out and do something.

“They’re going to have high motivation and they’ll be playing with a crowd this time, which obviously Stan wasn’t happy with the other day.”

Wawrinka took to social media to voice his dissatisfaction with the small turnout for their meeting against France but a similar crowd to Wednesday’s 9,290 is expected on Friday.

Given their performances against Australia, Evans and Draper are the front-runners to keep their singles spots ahead of top-ranked Cameron Norrie and Andy Murray, but Smith may yet spring another surprise.

Evans had a strong record against De Minaur but has lost all five meetings with Wawrinka, while Swiss number two Dominic Stricker beat fellow 21-year-old Draper at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals in their only previous match.

Smith welcomes the dilemma, though, adding: “People keep saying you’ve got really difficult selections – well, I’d rather that way to what it was many moons ago.

“I think it’s great, I think it’s testament to all the guys that everyone’s playing at the top of their game.

“We’ve got to weigh everything up because people have played a lot of tennis as well, potentially look at match-ups, but we discuss it as a group and ultimately we’ll make a call on it.”

Draper has managed only 10 tournaments this season because of a succession of injuries, the latest of which to his left shoulder saw him retire at the French Open and then miss Wimbledon, dropping him out of the top 100.

But time on the sidelines has not affected the Londoner’s ability to look like a top-10 player in the making and a run to the fourth-round of the US Open was his best yet at a grand slam.

“It’s been an incredibly challenging year for me,” he said. “I started the year at 38 in the world, everything was going great, and then just got hit by a load of injuries really. Maybe a few mistakes that I’ll learn from and stuff I could have done better.

“The one before Wimbledon was a real blow, I couldn’t play for a month or two, I spent loads of time in a bit of a rut trying to get out of it.

“I worked really hard to get myself back, I knew my time would come again because my tennis has always been there.

“New York was a massive boost for me, I needed it. Then coming here I’ve been really confident.

“It’s all coming together so hopefully I can just keep on going to the end of the season and finish really strong.”

A record crowd for the competition in this country of 13,000 saw Leon Smith’s Great Britain team triumph in a nail-biting tie against France last year to book their place in the Final Eight event in Malaga, where they lost to Serbia in the quarter-finals.

The ITF all but announced in November that Manchester would again be a host city and that has now been rubber-stamped, with the challenge for organisers to try to boost crowds for the non-GB ties.

Britain will find out their three opponents for the group stage, which takes place from September 10-15, at the draw next Tuesday.

LTA director of major events and digital, Chris Pollard, said: “We are delighted to bring the Davis Cup Finals group stage back to Manchester again this September.

“We saw first-hand how the fans embraced the event and how their support helped our team win their group in 2023.

“We are looking forward to working with our partners at Manchester City Council and Marketing Manchester to make the Davis Cup even bigger and better this year, helping open up our sport to many more people.”

Britain were given a wild card into the group stage along with Spain, while champions Italy and runners-up Australia also avoided having to play in last month’s qualifiers.

Bologna and Valencia join Manchester as returning hosts while Zhuhai will also stage a group despite China not being among the 16 competing nations.

"I'm super happy. These types of matches make you dig as deep as possible, especially with the fact that I didn't serve well this tie," Marshall explained having hit 12 double faults in the match.

Not even a lengthy rain delay when the Barbadian was leading 4-0 in the third could thwart his quest for glory, and by the time the match resumed just after 6:30pm Jamaica time, the majority of the partisan crowd had left the venue as the 21-year-old converted on his second match point to complete victory in two hours and 14 minutes, with the Barbados team racing on to court in short but rapturous celebrations.

It was only Marshall's second triumph in nine Davis Cup singles matches but his previous win came in similar do-or-die circumstances against Pacific Oceania in Bridgetown last year.

"I think I've had a crazy rollercoaster of a year since then, but that match definitely helped me in this match," he said.
The win keeps Barbados in Group II while Jamaica have been relegated to Group III.

Non-playing captain, Noel Rutherford said he was disappointed but not so heartbroken at the result. "You have to give credit to the Bajan team," he said.

"I thought we had it when we levelled it all after Blaise came out firing;, I thought we would have closed it off in the final singles but that wasn't to be, this kid came out fighting and you have to give him credit."

Blaise Bicknell won both his singles matches, but defeat in doubles alongside Phillips, plus wins for Darian King and Marshall over Phillips were enough to take Barbados to the win.

Third seed Zverev triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in a hard-fought third-round battle with Murray on Tuesday.

Three-time grand slam winner Murray had previously defeated Adrian Mannarino and rising star Carlos Alcaraz in California.

He then ran Zverev close, with the German saying afterwards he felt Murray had produced his best performance since returning from hip surgery.

Murray agreed there were positives to take from his run, but was again frustrated not to get a statement win, having also fallen in five sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open.

The Briton may play ATP Tour events in Antwerp and Vienna over the next fortnight but is soon eyeing a break that means he will not be putting himself forward for the Davis Cup Finals, which take place over 10 days from the end of November.

Recovering some freshness and spending time with his family are on Murray's agenda ahead of the Australian Open early in 2022.

"I've given a lot to the Davis Cup, and sometimes to my own detriment physically," Murray told BBC Sport after the loss to Zverev.

"The same thing happened last time I played Davis Cup at the end of 2019. I know there was coronavirus, but I was struggling with that really up until September time the following year.

"I also don't feel right now I would be playing, either. Obviously that would be up to [Team GB captain] Leon [Smith], but I'm not sure I deserve to play in that team.

"Right now, I'm not planning on playing the Davis Cup and with the late finish to it, and early departure to Australia, with my schedule between now and the end of the year, I am going to have to rest and take a break and give my body a chance to breathe.

"And I want to make sure in the offseason I get to spend as much time with my family as I can because I have been away from that recently and that will be case when I go to Australia as well."

On the defeat to Zverev, Murray said: "The positive for me to take from it is I had opportunities again.

"I didn't feel like I played a great match and still had chances, so that's positive. But I'm disappointed because I want to be winning these matches. I haven't in the past few months."

Both players forced six break points each and fired down eight aces apiece in an even contest.

Murray broke Zverev three times across the two sets and led in each of them, but ultimately it was the world number four who progressed to book a tie with Gael Monfils in the last 16.

It was the first time Zverev had beaten Murray in three attempts and he has now triumphed against each of the Big Four, with previous wins over Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to his name.

Britain’s dramatic success against France in Manchester in September had sent them through to the final eight event for the first time in the revamped format.

But they fell at the first hurdle, with Miomir Kecmanovic defeating Jack Draper 7-6 (2) 7-6 (6) before Djokovic comfortably saw off Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-4 to send a jubilant Serbia through to a semi-final against Italy on Saturday.

Given the presence of Djokovic, who cemented his position at the top of the sport by winning a seventh ATP Finals title on Sunday, Britain’s hopes depended on Draper winning the first rubber.

The tie did not get under way until 6.10pm, more than two hours later than billed, because of the over-running first match of the day between Italy and the Netherlands.

There were around 5,000 British fans in a near-capacity crowd, giving the event the sort of authentic Davis Cup feel that has so often been missing since the switch from the home-and-away format.

Among those sat in the stands at the Palacio de Deportes Martin Carpena was Dan Evans, who had hoped to build on his brilliant performances in Manchester before a calf injury prematurely ended his season.

But even the British number two would have had his work cut out against an inspired Kecmanovic, who was chosen ahead of the higher-ranked Laslo Djere and fully justified the decision.

Draper had the better form coming in having reached his first ATP Tour final this month and had beaten Kecmanovic – ranked five places higher at 55 – earlier this year, but the Serbian was dominant on serve and edged two tie-breaks.

Draper hung on during the first set, saving two break points at 3-4 and then two set points at 4-5 with some gutsy play only to double fault twice in the tie-break.

His chance came when he recovered from 2-5 to level at 5-5 in the second tie-break but, despite saving a match point, he could not force a decider.

It was only the 21-year-old’s second Davis Cup rubber and he admitted knowing Djokovic was looming added to the nerves he felt.

“That’s seemingly a must-win match for me,” said Draper. “It’s definitely a tough challenge to go out there knowing that there is a lot more pressure on me to win the match.

“That’s the kind of pressure that, if I want to be a top player, I have to cope with and have to perform under. It’s tough not to get the win today. I gave it all I had mentally. I didn’t do a few things as well as I wanted to, but he played a great match.”

Djokovic had lost only six of his 61 previous matches this season, with just one defeat since the Wimbledon final, while his Davis Cup record is utterly formidable.

It is 12 years since he lost a singles match in the competition, and even that was by retirement, with now 21 straight wins and only four sets dropped.

Norrie had managed only a single set in three previous meetings and has endured a miserable run since the clay-court swing back in the spring, but he was captain Leon Smith’s only option once Andy Murray pulled out with a minor shoulder injury.

He did not put in a bad performance by any means, but was fire-fighting from the moment he was broken at 2-2 in the opening set, throwing everything he had at Djokovic to fight back from 0-40 in his next service game.

The Serbian lost just three points on serve in the first set – and only eight in the match – and blew kisses towards a vocal British fan who had been warned by the umpire after clinching it to love.

Norrie promptly dropped serve to start the second set before again hanging on grimly, this time saving five break points at 1-3, but Djokovic was able to stay in his comfort zone through to the finish line.

While Serbia are a step closer to the trophy, Britain must start again in February in the qualifiers – barring an unlikely wild card through to September’s group stage.

The world number one showed his annoyance with a section of the 5,000-strong British support by cupping his ear and blowing ironic kisses at the end of the first set of his 6-4 6-4 victory over Cameron Norrie.

When the same group of fans began drumming during Djokovic’s on-court interview, the Serbian responded: “Learn how to respect players, learn how to behave yourself,” before adding, “no, you shut up, you be quiet”.

It was a sour end to what was a disappointing evening for Britain, with the writing on the wall once Jack Draper fell to a 7-6 (2) 7-6 (6) defeat by Miomir Kecmanovic in a opening rubber that was a must-win.

On his spat with the supporters, Djokovic said: “In the Davis Cup, it’s normal that sometimes fans step over the line but, in the heat of the moment, you react too, and you show that you don’t allow this kind of behaviour.

“They can do whatever they want, but I’m going to respond to that. I was trying to talk and they were purposely starting to play the drums so that I don’t talk and they were trying to annoy me the entire match. So we had a little bit of a chat in the end.”

Britain’s dramatic success against France in Manchester in September had sent them through to the final eight event for the first time in the revamped format.

The tie did not get under way until 6.10pm, more than two hours later than billed, because of the over-running first match of the day between Italy and the Netherlands.

The near-capacity crowd, which also included a sizeable number of Serbian supporters, gave the event the sort of authentic Davis Cup feel that has so often been missing since the switch from the home-and-away format.

Among those sat in the stands at the Palacio de Deportes Martin Carpena was Dan Evans, who had hoped to build on his brilliant performances in Manchester before a calf injury prematurely ended his season.

But even the British number two would have had his work cut out against an inspired Kecmanovic, who was chosen ahead of the higher-ranked Laslo Djere and fully justified the decision.

Draper had the better form coming in having reached his first ATP Tour final this month and had beaten Kecmanovic – ranked five places higher at 55 – earlier this year, but the Serbian was dominant on serve and edged two tie-breaks.

It was only the 21-year-old’s second Davis Cup rubber and he admitted knowing Djokovic was looming added to the nerves he felt.

“That’s seemingly a must-win match for me,” said Draper. “It’s definitely a tough challenge to go out there knowing that there is a lot more pressure on me to win the match.

“That’s the kind of pressure that, if I want to be a top player, I have to cope with and have to perform under. It’s tough not to get the win today. I gave it all I had mentally. I didn’t do a few things as well as I wanted to, but he played a great match.”

Djokovic had lost only six of his 61 previous matches this season, with just one defeat since the Wimbledon final, while his Davis Cup record is utterly formidable.

It is 12 years since he lost a singles match in the competition, and even that was by retirement, with now 21 straight wins and only four sets dropped.

Norrie had managed only a single set in three previous meetings and has endured a miserable run since the clay-court swing back in the spring, but he was captain Leon Smith’s only option once Andy Murray pulled out with a minor shoulder injury.

He did not put in a bad performance by any means, but was fire-fighting from the moment he was broken at 2-2 in the opening set and won only eight points on Djokovic’s serve during the contest.

While Serbia are a step closer to the trophy, Britain must start again in February in the qualifiers – barring an unlikely wild card through to September’s group stage.