So where do John Lloyd, the Davis Cup captain, and Peter Lundgren, the coach, turn? No Tim Henman, no Greg Rusedski used to mean not a chance, but there are signs, albeit small, that someone will hold up a hand and say that they are ready to play second singles for the cause in April.

The scene tends to shift quickly in British tennis these days — blink and you have probably missed another coaching appointment. Alex Bogdanovic is the British No 3 and, having broken up with Mike Raphael — his fifth coach in as many years — has spent the past month with Lundgren, but his results do not signify a discernible improvement and he has found the pressures of the Davis Cup unbearably difficult.

Richard Bloomfield has moved to the No 4 slot and a world ranking of No 187 and remains miffed that Jeremy Bates, a former captain, once refused to pick him because of his introvert nature.

Jamie Baker was brought into the Davis Cup squad for the first time in Ukraine last September and lost the dead rubber against Sergei Bubka, but has since risen to a career-high No 268 in the world, having reached the final of an ATP Challenger in Hawaii a week after the Australian Open. He has reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in Joplin, Missouri, scheduled to be played last night.

“I learnt so much from being around the likes of John Lloyd, Peter Lundgren and Brad Gilbert that week in the Ukraine and what it means to play for your country,” Baker said. “I’ve worked really hard and if the call came, I’d be ready to give it everything.”