I'd like to congratulate Jamie Baker on his terrific fighting display, allowing British tennis to hold its head just a little higher. Well done, Jamie, and thanks!

i am glad JL has changed his tune on alex to some extent. alex was nervous, i think he had mentaly accpeted the fact that hesnt wasn't goign to be involved too much in the tie then had to change with AM's decision

unless there are some radical changes i see us taking the same team as this time with andy jamie x 2 and alex with either ross or aucks as 5th.

i think at the moment jamie has secured the 2nd singles berth, although september is a long away off so that could change.

on faster surfaces i think JL will want the murray bros to play togther, in that instance having boggo as back up is a better allround option as he can play doubles if needed.

i dont think having a doubles specialist team is realisitic for us at the moment, our doubles players dont play week in week out with each other, which is what makes great teams, and lets be honest if boggo or any of our other decent singles guys decided they wanted to concentrate on dubs i am sure they would make big rises.

in the play-off can u play anywhere in the world? or is it linked to your zone?

From the Telegraph:


Murray camp launch defence of Andy's absence

By Ben Daniels in Marseille
Last Updated: 1:24am GMT 12/02/2008


Team Murray last night moved to dampen the criticism of Andy Murray's decision not to play in the Davis Cup match in Argentina last weekend, saying that the Scot did not deserve all the adverse reaction.

Even with Murray in their team, Britain would have struggled to make any impact against Argentina on their favoured clay courts, and so it proved as David Nalbandian et al ran out comfortable winners to leave Britain facing another relegation battle to preserve their world-group status in September.

Murray cited a troublesome right knee and the difficulty in changing between surfaces in such a short space of time, something that shocked both his brother Jamie, who had some harsh words on the subject, and the captain, John Lloyd, who was told the news by the player's agent, Patricio Apey.

That, though, was not Murray's fault, according to Apey. "There has been a lot of criticism of Andy for not calling John [Lloyd] to tell him," Apey said. "But that criticism is unfair because it was my decision. Andy was going to have some treatment on his injury - he wanted to have a quiet word with John, but the press release was going out, and it was my suggestion that I call him because of the timing.

"Andy could have waited a day, two days to tell him but he didn't want that. Once he had made the decision he wanted it done right away. It wasn't a popular decision but for his tennis it was the right decision."

At the end of last year - a year in which he had to miss 12 weeks because of a wrist injury - Murray had hinted that he would have to think seriously about how the Davis Cup fits into his schedule, promising that he would put his own long-term interests first.

Murray has assured Lloyd that he is committed to the Davis Cup and he will be available for the relegation tie in September. Apey insists that no one should question Murray's desire to play for Britain.

"Andy loves Davis Cup, he absolutely does," Apey said. "Look at the match against Croatia in September. He played a dead rubber, only because of the expectations. Nowhere else in the world does a top-10 player play a dead rubber, but because it was at Wimbledon and a lot of people expected to see him play, and because they asked him, he played."

Jamie Murray said last week that it "kind of affects the way I feel about him", but Apey said not too much should be read into that.

"It's OK for Jamie to have his opinion, of course. People will write that Andy and Jamie haven't spoken, but had Davis Cup not existed, had Jamie been playing on the South American clay circuit and then in North America, and had Andy stayed in Europe, then in all likelihood they wouldn't have spoken anyway."

Murray returns to the circuit here today against Jesse Huta Galung, a Dutch qualifier ranked 190 in the world, in the first round of the Open 13. Just a couple of days after the Davis Cup tie, the timing could be better, but Apey stressed that Murray's long-term future was the most important thing.

"The decision [was not taken] so that he can play Marseille. It's so that he can be able to play to the highest level," he said. "When a country loses its best player it is normal that there are going to be people who are upset about it. I just wish people could see that it is for the good of Andy's career, which will also be good for British tennis.

"It would be a lot easier if there was another player in the top 50, but that's not the case. I'd love to know the last time a team won the Davis Cup, or even reached the semi-final, with only one player in the top 150.

"Of course people were upset that he couldn't play, but give him a break and have a dose of reality."

Some Quality Journalism here

Hutchins facing Davis Cup chop
By Stuart Amos
Wimbledon tennis professional Ross Hutchins could face the chop from captain John Lloyd's Davis Cup squad after failing to win a rubber in last weekend's Davis Cup defeat to Argentina.

The 22-year-old, who only featured in one match, made his Great Britain debut in the World Group first round 4-1 defeat to their David Nalbandian-inspired opponents.

Hutchins, drafted in to the team as a replacement for British number one Andy Murray, played a prominent role in a 6-2 7-6 (13-11) 6-0 doubles defeat on Saturday giving the Argentines an unassailable 3-0 lead.

But world number 235 James Baker salvaged some pride on Sunday with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win over Agustin Calleri, after Alex Bogdanovic had been steam-rollered 7-5 7-5 by Jose Acasuso.

Murray, who controversially ruled himself out of the weekend match in Buenos Aires, returned to action this week at the Open 13 tournament in Marseille.

But he has pledged to be available for future Davis Cup clashes - in particular a possible World Group relegation play-off in September - which could see Hutchins make way.

-- Edited by Count Zero at 15:27, 2008-02-14

its from 'this is local london'

so is Jamie for the chop too as he didnt win a rubber either, plus a 75 75 loss is steam rollered??