Tuesday, 17 February 2009

Jamie Murray misses Davis Cup cut

Murray has played in Britain's last four Davis Cup ties Jamie Murray has been left out of Britain's Davis Cup squad to face Ukraine in Glasgow from 6-8 March. GB captain John Lloyd has opted to pick only one doubles specialist and Ross Hutchins has been selected ahead of the out-of-form Murray. Murray, 23, has won only two matches this season. World number four Andy Murray will fill another of the slots in the four-man squad, with a play-off next week deciding the other two members. Explaining his decision, Lloyd said: "Choosing between two quality doubles players was always going to be tough. "I've been studying the players since the last tie in September and feel that Ross has been playing the better tennis over the last four or five months so he gets the nod this time. "Jamie is a very talented doubles player and has always thrived in the Davis Cup environment and I have no doubt that he will feature in the team in the future." Murray made his Davis Cup debut in 2007 when he partnered Greg Rusedski in the win over the Netherlands and has won two of his four doubles matches in the competition. However, since Wimbledon last year, Murray has struggled for form. His partnership with Max Mirnyi came to an end in September and Murray has managed only four wins since then, playing with a variety of partners. Hutchins, meanwhile, has forged a close friendship with Andy Murray, spending the off-season with the world number four in Miami. The 23-year-old, whose regular doubles partner is Australian Stephen Huss, won an ATP title in Beijing in September and then reached consecutive finals. He has made previous two Davis Cup appearances, partnering Jamie Murray in defeats against Austria and Argentina. Lloyd must now decide on the make-up of the rest of his squad after deciding against giving British number two Alex Bogdanovic a chance to turn around his poor form in the competition. Former British number one Greg Rusedski is also out of the picture after he abandoned his plan to come out of retirement. Lloyd will instead hold a six-man play-off at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. Josh Goodall, Alex Slabinsky, James Ward, Dan Evans and Colin Fleming have been joined in the best-of-five-set tournament by Chris Eaton after Jamie Baker pulled out with an injury. "With Andy and Ross in the team, it is up to the guys in the play-offs to step up and show that they are ready to play for Great Britain," said Lloyd.