Great Britain set for a Davis Cup venue dilemma
GREAT Britain are set to face a quandary over the staging of their Davis Cup quarter-final with France after sealing progress to the last eight with success over the United States in Glasgow yesterday.
Hosts Britain will decide the venue for the clash, which will take place between 17-19 July, while Glasgow’s Emirates Arena and indoor facility which were used against the United States might not provide such advantageous conditions against France.
The Lawn Tennis Association has confirmed that Wimbledon’s Centre Court and Court One, both of which meet the 6,000 required capacity, will be unavailable on Monday 13 July in case of a delayed finish to the tournament.
Davis Cup rules stipulate that the court must be available by that stage so teams can continue their preparations. Other grass-court options include Queen’s Club and Eastbourne.
“Ultimately you’ve got to go with the surface that gives you the best shot of winning,” said Great Britain captain Leon Smith. “We’ve got to try and pick a surface that Andy [Murray], James Ward and the core doubles group agree on.
“That’s something we’ll put our heads together over the next week as captain and players and just chew the fat. Once we’ve decided what we want we’ll go to the suits and ask them to try and make it happen.”
World No3 Andy Murray clinched victory for Great Britain against the United States by recording a straight-sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), victory over John Isner, handing his side an unassailable 3-1 lead in the World Group first-round tie.
James Ward then won the first set of his dead rubber, 7-5 against Donald Young, before retiring with a knee problem as the showdown ended 3-2 in Britain’s favour.
“It’s a big win. There’s a great synergy in the team and that builds the emotion and togetherness. It gives you that extra incentive to perform and fight for every singe point,” said Murray.
“Everyone fought extremely hard especially when we were behind in the matches, no one gave up and everyone played every point extremely hard.”