Lily Miyazaki kicked off the British challenge at the US Open by reaching the second round on her Flushing Meadows debut.

There were echoes of Emma Raducanu after the 27-year-old qualifier, Britain’s sole representative on day one, beat Russian Margarita Betova 6-3 6-3.

The world number 199 may be unlikely to emulate Raducanu’s fairy-tale title win two years ago, but she still secured a near-£100,000 pay day and a high-profile second-round match against Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

“It’s going to be a tough match for sure,” said Miyazaki.

“But I guess the good thing is I’ve seen her play plenty of times and she probably doesn’t know much about me.”

While the other six British players in the main draw had the day off, Miyazaki took on the experienced Betova, who was playing under a protected ranking after coming back from having a child.

Miyazaki, who moved to London aged 10 but only changed allegiance from Japan last year, overcame an early break and won six games in a row to take control.

With fellow Brit Jodie Burrage cheering her on, Miyazaki finished the job on her second match point to win in an hour and 20 minutes.

Miyazaki, whose only previous grand slam appearance came when she lost in the Wimbledon first round in 2022 as a wild card, added: “I’ve enjoyed the atmosphere here.

“I was really grateful for the support from Jodie and everyone, and it definitely helped me out.”

Andy Murray admitted he had to go away and lick his wounds after his Wimbledon disappointment.

The Scot was leading world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-1 in their second-round match when the 11pm curfew kicked in.

It seemed the momentum was with Murray but when the match resumed the following day, the two-time champion was beaten in five sets.

Murray revealed it took a few days to get over the narrow defeat, but he quickly set about working on areas of his game which he could improve.

“I went away on holiday straight afterwards,” he said. “Always immediately after matches, especially Wimbledon, at majors there’s greater disappointment and greater emotions than at any other time in the year.

“Probably after three or four days of being away from it, I chatted to my team about things that I feel I need to change, certain shots in my game if I wanted to win more of those matches and dictate more of those matches.

“So I did that, went away and worked on things for a period of time.”

Murray is likely to face another seed, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, in the second round of the US Open.

But first the 2012 Flushing Meadows champion must overcome France’s world number 72 Corentin Moutet.

“I’ve not played against him, but I practised with him once, he’s an unbelievably talented guy,” added Murray.

“He’s not the biggest, he tends to play quite long points but he’s got tons of variety and good hands at the net.

“He can be a bit volatile at times but yeah, a good challenge for me, very different to how most players play in the draw.

“A lot of the game nowadays is based on power and serves and he’s the opposite really. A good test for me.”

Murray is one of six Brits in the first round on Tuesday, with Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper, Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage also in action.

Maths whizz Lily Miyazaki feels like her number has finally come up after qualifying for the US Open.

The Tokyo-born Brit had a wild card for Wimbledon last year, but has now reached the main draw of a grand slam under her own steam for the first time.

Miyazaki, who earned a masters degree in mathematical science in the United States four years ago, beat Slovakia’s Viktoria Hruncakova in the final round of qualifying at Flushing Meadows.

The 27-year-old now has to solve the puzzle of how to get past Russian Margarita Betova on Monday for a first grand slam match win.

“Playing Wimbledon last year was amazing,” said Miyazaki. “But I think that, as a wild card, I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t know if you truly believe like you belong.

“And I played Caroline Garcia, obviously she’s a pretty good player and I was really nervous going into that match. So hopefully this time I feel like I belong here. So that experience definitely helped me.”

Miyazaki joins Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage as the British contingent in the women’s draw.

She also shares a coach, Craig Veal, with British number two Burrage, who was in the stands supporting her compatriot.

“For her to qualify, it was killing me,” said Burrage, 24. “When she was one-set all, I had to go to practice and throughout it I was shouting at my physio asking what the score was.

“I was hardly focusing on my practice because I wanted to be there watching her, but it’s so good she has qualified, with me and ‘Boults’ being in the main draw.

“It’s nice when you are friends and you can enjoy success with them and hopefully next week we can do some damage in the main draw. We’ve all got the games to be able to.”

Burrage faces Russian Anna Blinkova on Tuesday, while British number one Boulter meets France’s Diane Parry.

Novak Djokovic has had his fair share of rivalries over his career but says the latest, with Carlos Alcaraz, is bringing the very best out of him.

Djokovic begins his quest for a 24th grand slam title at the US Open on Monday having already eclipsed the totals of his illustrious peers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

But the man likely to be standing in his way is Alcaraz, the defending champion who beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last month.

Djokovic got a measure of revenge when he outlasted the 20-year-old Spaniard in a near four-hour final in Cincinnati a week ago.

The duo may be at the opposite end of their careers but they have already built a rivalry which looks set to endure for as long as Djokovic, 36, continues to pick up a racket.

“He’s always pushing me to the limit,” said the Serbian. “I think I do to him pretty much the same thing. That’s why we produced a memorable final.

“It was one of the best, most exciting, and most difficult finals I was ever part of in best-of-three, no doubt, throughout my career.

“That’s why I fell on the ground after I won the match because it felt like winning a grand slam, to be honest. The amount of exchanges and rallies. It was physically so demanding and gruelling that I felt very exhausted for the next few days.

“Those are kind of the moments in matches that I still push myself on a daily basis, day in and day out, practice, sacrifice, commitment. At 36, I still have the drive.”

If Djokovic wins his first-round match, against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, he will overtake Alcaraz to become world number one again.

Alcaraz, the top seed, starts his campaign on Tuesday against Dominik Koepfer of Germany.

Iga Swiatek opens proceedings on Monday against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden as she bids to defend the title she won last year.

“On one hand you always want to kind of take experience from last year, find all these positive things that happened, take strength from that,” said the world number one from Poland.

“On the other hand you have to remember that it’s a totally different story. A lot can happen during like these 12 months.

“So I try to take everything step by step, not really go forward with my thoughts, think that I need to do something more because last year I won.”

Andy Murray is confident the injury which interrupted his US Open preparations has cleared up just in time for the main event.

The three-time grand slam winner, champion at Flushing Meadows in 2012, had to withdraw from this year’s warm-up tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Murray, 36, was unable to serve in practice until this week due to what he revealed turned out to be a torn abdominal muscle.

“The first five or six days were a bit complicated. There were lots of different opinions,” said the Scot.

“It is quite a difficult place to scan, the ab, so we weren’t really sure the first few days. And then I came to New York pretty early and went to one of the hospitals here and had the radiologist from back home who looks at my scans check them.

“I had a small tear, which is healing. And the last five or six days of practice have been really good. I have not had any issues serving.

“It is just obviously that you don’t take a week off from serving then go full into it. You need to build up a little bit. It has not been perfect in that sense but my ab has been OK.”

Murray begins his latest New York campaign against Corentin Moutet, the world number 71 from France, on Tuesday.

If he comes through that, a tasty second-round meeting with Bulgaria’s 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov is on the cards.

There will be seven Brits in the main draw after Lily Miyazaki came through qualifying.

The 27-year-old, who was born in Tokyo, beat Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia in three sets, 6-3 4-6 6-4.

It will be Miyazaki second appearance at a grand slam after she received a wild card for last year’s Wimbledon.

But Liam Broady was unable to join Murray, Miyazaki, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper, Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage in the main draw after losing in the final round of qualifying to Sho Shimabukuro of Japan, 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Novak Djokovic, back after missing last year’s US Open due to his vaccination status, is in action on Monday night against France’s Alexander Muller on Arthur Ashe.

The 23-time grand slam winner can take over from US Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s rankings just by winning his first-round match.

Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, the reigning champion, opens proceedings on Ashe against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden.

Meanwhile Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 winner, has withdrawn from the tournament due to an injury.

Defending champion and world number one Carlos Alcaraz stands in the way of British success at the US Open, which starts in New York next week.

Three of the four British men who have qualified automatically have been drawn in the same quarter as the Spaniard, who also claimed his first Wimbledon title over Novak Djokovic in July.

Alcaraz, who starts against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer, is seeded to face Dan Evans in round two and Cameron Norrie in round three.

Meanwhile he could also face Andy Murray in the last eight if Murray, the 2012 champion, battles through a tough draw that could include Grigor Dimitrov in round two and sixth seed Jannik Sinner in round four.

Jack Draper, the only British player not drawn in the same quarter as the irrepressible Spaniard, starts against Romania’s Radu Albot.

The draw also raises the prospect of Alcaraz renewing his quarter-final rivalry with Sinner, one year on from their epic last eight clash that lasted more than five hours and ended shortly before 3am.

Reigning women’s champion Iga Swiatek starts against Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson and could face a quarter-final meeting with sixth seed Coco Gauff.

Gauff – who is likely to have to negotiate surging 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in round two – beat Switek for the first time in eight attempts in Cincinnati last week.

Caroline Wozniacki will face a qualifier as she makes her return after a three-year retirement and could meet former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in round two.

British number one Katie Boulter starts against Diane Parry of France, and could meet another French player, seventh seed Caroline Garcia, in round two.

Boulter lost in the first round of her only previous main draw appearance in 2021, but is enjoying a fine season including a run to the third round of Wimbledon.

Jodie Burrage will make her US Open draw debut against Anna Blinkova, with a second round meeting with second seed Aryna Sabalenka the likely prize.

The final grand slam of the year gets under way in New York on Monday.

Emma Raducanu remains sidelined but six British players have secured their spots in the main singles draws by ranking.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the home contingent.

Cameron Norrie

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After a brilliant start to the season, Norrie has found himself in something of a trough. The solidity that has formed the basis of his superb last two seasons is no longer quite there and the 27-year-old arrives in New York having lost his last four matches dating back to the first round of Wimbledon. He remains a top-20 player and possesses huge self belief but he will have his work cut out to match last year’s run to the fourth round.

Dan Evans

It has also been a tricky last few months for Evans, who has lost his opening match in eight of his last nine tour-level events. The one time he made it through, though, in Washington earlier this month, he went on to claim the biggest title of his career. The 33-year-old will again be seeded and has a very good record at Flushing Meadows, having reached the third round four times and the fourth round once.

Andy Murray

The 36-year-old is having his best season since hip surgery and has proved consistently that he can compete against the world’s best again, although getting over the line has been another matter. His agonising second-round loss against Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon clearly hurt but the desire to be a factor once again on the biggest stage still burns bright. An untimely abdominal injury has left him in a race to be fully fit for the US Open.

Jack Draper

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When Draper stunned Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows last year, it seemed his career was about to take off, but frustratingly injuries have been a constant thorn since and his ranking has dropped back outside the top 100. There is no doubt it will climb quickly again if the powerful 21-year-old can just stay fit for a period of time. A shoulder injury suffered at the French Open that ruled him out of the grass was his latest issue, however, he retired after losing the first set in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday, which is a concern. He is a dangerous floater in the draw, if he is fully fit.

Katie Boulter

After the low of no direct British entrants for the women’s singles at the French Open and Wimbledon, it is good to see Boulter and Jodie Burrage in the main draw by right. Boulter has propelled herself to a career-high ranking of 60 after four years spent trying to make it back into the top 100 after injury. The 27-year-old shone on grass, winning her first WTA Tour title in Nottingham and reaching the third round at Wimbledon. She qualified in New York in 2021 but is yet to win a main draw match.

Jodie Burrage

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Beaten by Boulter in the final in Nottingham, Burrage has joined her in the top 100 and in the main draw at Flushing Meadows, where she will make her grand slam debut on foreign soil. It has been a breakthrough season for the 24-year-old, who is another player to struggle with injuries during her career. Burrage has proved her competitive mettle in 2023 with several narrow victories, beating 10 top-100 opponents along the way.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will come face-to-face for the first time since Alcaraz’s Wimbledon victory when they meet in the final of the Western and Southern Open.

The Spaniard eclipsed the 23-time major champion in the final at the All England club in July.

Alcaraz punched his ticket to Sunday’s final in Cincinnati with a 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-3 win over Hubert Hurkacz.

The world number one was forced to save a match point in the second set before wrapping up the win in two hours and 16 minutes.

Speaking in his on-court interview after the match, Alcaraz said: “I had a lot of break points, it was really tough.

“Obviously saving a match point is never easy but with my coach, we were talking about staying positive all the time and to stay there.

“We knew I was going to have my chances and I tried to take it.

“Every match against Hubi is really, really tough but I’m really, really happy that I was able to win.”

Djokovic gave himself an opportunity for revenge against Alcaraz after qualifying for the final with a 7-6 (5) 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev.

It was an even contest for much of the match, but the world number two used his veteran baseline prowess to take the advantage right when he needed it.

Djokovic said: “I’m pleased. I think there’s a few things I could’ve done better, but overall it’s a straight sets win against a great player in form, so I’m really happy.”

Alcaraz and Djokovic have met three times previously, with Alcaraz holding a 2-1 advantage.

Coco Gauff scrapped her way to a maiden win over world number one Iga Swiatek to reach her first WTA 1000 final at the Southern and Western Open in Cincinnati.

The 19-year-old American showed her mettle to defeat the Pole 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-4 after losing their previous seven encounters.

Gauff trailed 5-3 and 6-5 in the opening set, but having dragged herself back into it, capitalised on a series of unforced errors in the tie-break to nudge ahead.

The Polish player’s response was concerted as she took the second set to level, but it was she who faltered in the third as the number seven seed converted her fourth match point to go through.

Gauff will face unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s final after she got the better of Aryna Sabalenka in the other last-four clash.

Second seed Sabalenka took the first set on a tie-break, but Muchova hit back to win 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-2 and also clinch her first appearance in a WTA 1000 final.

World number one Iga Swiatek turned around a first-set deficit to beat Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (3) 6-1 and book her place in the semi-finals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Swiatek, the French Open champion, had trailed Vondrousova 5-4 in the opening set, but rallied to break back at 5-5 – only for both players to lose their next service games which brought up a tie-break.

Having taken that 7-3 with two more crucial mini-breaks, Swiatek maintained her momentum in the second set.

An early break and hold saw Swiatek lead 2-0 and she never relinquished control, closing out the match with two more breaks to complete the turnaround in one hour and 33 minutes.

“At the beginning, it wasn’t easy to get used to her lefty spin, but I’m happy that I kind of played better and better throughout the whole match. At the end, I was really solid,” the Pole said on the WTA Tour website.

“I made good decisions and chose the right solutions to win these points. I think she also kind of made some mistakes. The most important (thing) is to use your opportunity and I’m happy that I did that.”

Swiatek goes on to face Coco Gauff after the American eased past Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-2.

The 19-year-old will be hoping to make the most of the support of the home crowd when she faces the world number one – having not taken a set off Swiatek in their past seven meetings.

French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova also advanced to the semi-finals after Marie Bouzkova was forced to retire following three games of their match.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul in a three-set thriller to reach the quarter-finals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Wimbledon champion Alcaraz outlasted the American 7-6 (6) 6-7(0) 6-3 in a gruelling contest that lasted more than three hours.

The Spaniard suffered a three-set defeat against the American in the quarter-finals at the Toronto Masters last week.

Paul got the first break to lead 4-2, before Alcaraz rallied to bring up the tie-break, which he eventually claimed 8-6.

The second set proved another tight affair, with both players losing three service games at 5-5.

Paul saved three match points in a marathon 12th game which lasted more than 15 minutes to go into another tie-break.

This time, though, the American took control after an early mini-break to race into a 3-0 lead before then sweeping it to love.

Alcaraz broke in the first game of the deciding set, which he was leading 4-3 when rain forced play to be suspended after three hours and two minutes of a pulsating contest.

Following a delay of around an hour, the players headed out on court – but the match was soon paused again as the drizzle returned along with strong winds before the pair went off back inside.

When they were finally able to return to the court, Alcaraz picked up where he left off, clinching the next two games and sealing a trip to the quarter-finals.

Earlier on Thursday, Alexander Zverev battled past world number three Daniil Medvedev 6-4 5-7 6-4 to end a four-match losing streak against the Russian.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fourth seed, is out after he was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who recorded a first win over a top-10 ranked player in six matches.

Hurkacz goes on to play lucky loser Alexei Popyrin after the Australian earlier defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 1-6 6-3 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Zverev will face Adrian Mannarino in the last eight. The Frenchman progressed after American wildcard Mackenzie McDonald retired during the second set of their third-round match, with Mannarino ahead 6-4 3-0.

The run of veteran Swiss Stan Wawrinka – who had been given a wildcard entry and knocked out 10th seed Frances Tiafoe in the last round – was ended with a 6-4 6-2 defeat by qualifier Max Purcell.

The Australian, who upset world number seven Casper Ruud on Wednesday, will next face Alcaraz.

World number one Iga Swiatek fought back from a set down to beat Qinwen Zheng 3-6 6-1 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, where she will face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.

Zheng, who beat Venus Williams in the last round, threatened an upset as she opened up a 3-0 lead before taking the first set as Swiatek paid the price for 23 unforced errors.

After taking a bathroom break between sets, during which she also changed her match kit, the French Open champion rallied to force two early breaks against the Chinese 20-year-old and then again in the fifth game.

Although Zheng did finally get a game on the board with a break of her own, it was only delaying the inevitable as Swiatek closed out the set with yet another break.

The decider swiftly went the way of the Pole as she moved 3-0 up before serving out for what was – in the end – a comfortable victory.

“My coach had said to me, ‘if you lose the set it might be a good idea to change your outfit, so you can kind of reset and go in the second set with a different vibe’ – I tried this time and it worked,” Swiatek said during her courtside interview, broadcast by Amazon Prime Video.

Vondrousova, the 10th seed, had earlier coasted past American Sloane Stephens 7-5 6-3 to reach the last eight and a showdown with the world number one.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, though, retired through injury during the second set of her third-round match against Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini, who progressed with the score at 4-6 5-2.

Karolina Muchova also made it through to the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 6-3 2-6 6-3 victory over number eight seed Maria Sakkari.

Former Wimbledon junior champion Laura Robson does not think Henry Searle will come under the same pressure to succeed as she did after his win at SW19 this summer.

Searle won the boys’ title at the All England Club 15 years on from when Robson triumphed in the girls’ tournament and expectations are high for the 17-year-old from Wolverhampton.

Winning a home grand slam at such a young age can often be a burden and with British tennis still searching for its next star at the time Robson found herself under undue pressure to quickly transition into the women’s game.

She was making a good fist of it, reaching the fourth round at the US Open and Wimbledon, as well as winning Olympic silver in the mixed doubles in 2012, until injury ruined her career and forced an early retirement.

Searle’s Wimbledon victory was exciting, but with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper all established on the main tour, Robson says there is no rush for him.

“I don’t think you can compare it to my title in any way because 2008 is such a long time ago,” she told the PA news agency.

“I think people were unnecessarily excited because British tennis wasn’t what it was today, there are so many top players in the men’s and women’s side.

“It wasn’t the same when I played. I just feel like he is going to have so many people to lean on, from Andy all the way to Jack Draper, who is not too far away from him age wise. If there is as little pressure as possible, then great.

“He just seems like he has got such a good head on his shoulders. It is a really special moment for him, I just hope he soaks it up and continues to improve.

“He needs to keep as much joy as possible because that is what is most important as you try and transition from juniors to seniors because it is very tough but it seems like he has got such a good head on his shoulders.

“The more you can keep it the same and keep doing the same sort of training and effort into every session the better he is going to do. It seems like his team knows what they are doing.”

It could be easy for Robson to be bitter about having her career taken away from her by injury.

Just months after reaching her career high ranking of 27 she suffered a wrist problem in early 2014 and was never properly fully fit again for a sustained length of time. Hip surgery in 2018 proved too difficult to overcome and after several years out, she officially retired in 2022.

She has not dwelled on her bad luck, though, forging a career in television and also has taken her first steps into tennis administration, working as a player liaison at Wimbledon and being the tournament director of the WTA event at Nottingham.

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“I will always miss it but I have a different appreciation for it now,” Robson said. “It definitely took me some time but I knew for a good amount of time before I officially retired that I knew I wasn’t going to be playing so I had that whole journey before having to tell anyone, which makes it a lot nicer.

“I was at home, I was chilling with the dog and getting used to not picking up a racket every day and not going to the gym and rehab and just to have that couple of months to myself made it a lot easier.

“To announce it officially got rid of a lot of the emotions because people were always asking if I was going to play again. Since announcing I have been totally fine with it and I have been very, very busy, which always helps.”

The 29-year-old also held a coaching clinic at Wimbledon for players who did not make it to the finals of the Play Your Way To Wimbledon – a national competition with regional and county rounds.

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This year’s competition included categories for adults’ doubles pathway, visually impaired, wheelchair and learning disability tennis, which Robson believes is important for Wimbledon.

“It has been really fun, just to see the excitement on all of their faces at playing at Wimbledon for the first time,” Robson said.

“They were just enjoying themselves. To see so many different age groups and categories now, I feel like the more we can open Wimbledon up to people who think it is a little bit inaccessible or is a bit stiff, the better.”

:: Play Your Way to Wimbledon, powered by Vodafone, is the UK’s largest individual mass participation tennis competition and is delivered by Vodafone in partnership with the LTA and The All England Lawn Tennis Club, forming part of the brand’s ongoing commitment to support grassroots tennis in the UK, whilst encouraging more people to pick up a racket.

Dan Evans’ preparations for the US Open hit another stumbling block with a first-round defeat at the Western and Southern Open.

Evans began the US hard-court swing in sublime fashion by winning the biggest tournament of his career in Washington but lost in the first round in Toronto last week.

And he suffered another swift exit in Cincinnati, going down 6-4 6-3 to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

The match was supposed to be played on Monday but was cancelled due to inclement weather and Evans will be wishing the rain had returned.

It was a tough draw against the world number 18 and the first set could have gone either way.

Evans started off inconspicuously and was broken in the opening game but recovered to level at 4-4.

But the British number two immediately lost his serve as Musetti again took control.

Evans did not give up, though, and forced two break points to level at 5-5, but the Italian held him off to take the first set.

A double fault from Evans handed his opponent a break early in the second set and there was no coming back, with a second break enough to send Musetti through.

Andy Murray had been set to face 11th seed Karen Khachanov, but tournament organisers announced he had withdrawn late on Monday night because of an abdominal strain.

The former world number one had also pulled out of his last-16 match at the National Bank Open in Toronto last week.

Murray is aiming to recover in time for the US Open, which starts on August 28.

Andy Murray has been restored to Great Britain’s Davis Cup team as they take on Australia, France and Switzerland in Manchester next month.

Murray, who was integral to Britain ending a 79-year wait for glory in the team competition as they triumphed in 2015, was left out of their 3-1 qualifying win on the Colombian clay in February.

British captain Leon Murray suggested the surface was not conducive for Murray, who had at the time played just three matches on clay since 2017, and the former world number one has returned to the fray.

He takes his place alongside Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski for the Finals Group Stage at Manchester’s AO Arena from September 12-17 as they attempt to qualify for November’s knockout stage.

Only two of the four nations will advance from Group B for the quarter-finals in Malaga.

“We can’t wait to play Davis Cup in Manchester in front of a huge home crowd,” Smith said.

“It’s been a long time since we played in the North West and I’m sure we are going to feel and hear a lot of energy from the fans.

“We have a great team with a lot of Davis Cup experience who will be ready to give it everything in a tough group with Australia, Switzerland and France.”