Davis Cup Day 2 Doubles Preview

So the tie hangs delicately at 1-1 with both coaches satisfied on a good first day.

It was always odds-on that Melzer and Murray would win. If you want to look for a thread of British dominance then Britain lead the Austrians by 4 sets to 3.

John Lloyd answered the very first question at the Murray / Peya press conference.. so what is the doubles pairing for Saturday John ?

No matter how pushed Lloyd was he just said we have not even discussed the pairings yet. When Murray was asked Would you like to play the doubles tomorrow typically the question was not answered directly but eventually he confirmed he would like to play the doubles. So if you believe that the Murrays pick the team it will be the Murray Bros if you think Lloyd is in chargeit will be the Murray Bros.

Personally I think the bold decision should be to break in Hutchins and Jamie Murray in right now. If they are serious about the future of Ross as a Davis Cup player then they should go for it now. It would mean the possibility of needing Boggo to beat Peya and if Boggo can play anywhere near the first 90 mins of play today then it is very possible.

The Austrians have options for their doubles pairing also. When they beat GBR in 2004 it was not Knowle and Melzer winning the crucial but knowle and Peya. They beat Henman / Rusedski in 4 sets. The final set was a dismal 6-1. So do not be surprised if it is Peya rather than Melzer. My money though is on Jurgen to partner Julian.

It is not always the case that the team who wins the doubles match goes onto to win the tie. Britain led the Swedes 2-1 going into the Sunday after a fine win in the doubles when Henman / Rusedski came back from 2 sets to 1 to win. They went onto win only 1 set on the Sunday and the Swedes won 3-2. That was in 2002. A year later when Morocco beat GBR 3-2 again GBR won the doubles only to loose to the tie.

So we have enough recent history to know that winning / loosing the doubles match is not crucial but either coach will snap you hand off if you offered it to them.

I will be in the Press Centre from 10am on Saturday and will bring you news of the doubles pairing right here !

Stay right upto date HERE during the weekend's play.