Davis Cup: What next?

The victory over Turkey has meant that Great Britain can now rest easy, for the meantime anyway. After surviving the unthinkable of dropping into the lowest tier, Britain will now have to wait until September to find out who they will next face in their bid to climb back up the Davis Cup ladder.

The next tie will be a Group II first round match, which will take place in March next year.

The nations who the GB team could possibly face next include:
Ireland
Bulgaria
Monaco
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
Hungary

These are teams Britain would expect to beat but a team with an Andy Murray would obviously be better off.

Tempting Murray

The signs of a possible comeback from the world no4 as early as the next round seem to still be up in the air. Captain Leon Smith, speaking after Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski sealed the win, said: “He (Murray) has said before he ‘loves Davis Cup’. For him right now, and we all respect that, is that it is done on a tie-by-tie bases and there is nothing new there. When he wants to comeback we will love that because he is one of the world’s best players and any team in the world would love to have an Andy Murray in it, so when he wants to play we will be delighted.”

According to Greg Rusedski, on his Twitter page, Murray may well have more to consider when making his decision for future ties especially with the Olympics around the corner.

Rusedski wrote shortly after James Ward cemented the 5-0 whitewash: “the rebuilding has started and Murray will have to play next year if he wants to play 2012 Olympics.”

This now brings an interesting angle to the Murray saga but with there being a possible three ties pending results next year it is more than likely that the Scot will not appear until the second round match or if Britain lose the relegation play-off in 12 months time.

Britain's Leon King

Preparation, attention to detail and team spirit, these seem to be the key ideals that makeup the man now responsible for changing the face of the men’s game in Britain.

These characteristics spell a man who is willing to work tireless to drive through success, a winner who plays from the book.

Leon Smith, 34, comes from the Sir Clive Woodward school of thought, yet his lack of playing experience may hinder him, his qualifications as a coach make the Scot more than a worthy candidate for the role or should I say roles.

Many were surprised when the Lawn Tennis Association plucked the fresh faced Smith from head of player development, to take on the post as head of men’s tennis, while also being selected as Davis Cup captain but as we have seen from the result this week it could well be a risk well taken.

In some ways Smith has nothing to lose, with the finger being permanently pointed at Chief Executive Roger Draper for the current state of the game, but Smith refuses to simply sit back and let things continue.

“I cannot be tied at a desk at Roehampton. I have got to get out and see these guys compete and this is what I have done since I have got the job. I have been out and about spending a lot of time on the road with these guys.” said Smith.

This determination to get out has the potential to generate success for British tennis, which needs as much help as it can get at the moment.

Although at a relatively young age at 34 his passion and youthful exuberance seems to be having a positive influence already.

Karen Ross, Tennis Scotland performance co-ordinator, who worked with the talented coach told the Scottish Herald: “A lot of it is the art of coaching and being able to relate to players, and Leon is extremely good at that.”

Andy Murray’s mother, Judy Murray was one of the first to take a shine to the Glaswegian whilst he was working for Tennis Scotland as she first made him a hitting partner for her 10-year-old son and then in the end a mentor for the future world no4.

Smith played a decisive role in Murray’s development through his early teenage years and has also had a hand in the development of many other Scottish players, such as Colin Fleming and Jamie Baker.

Baker has known Smith since he was around 8-years-old but it is only now that he has began to work directly and spoke highly of his style of coaching.

“I can say that the preparation towards the week has been firstly class, said the Scot.

“He is very, very meticulous, a lot of attention to detail, every think is thought out. I think every practice day had been planned way in advanced of us getting here. I actually like that for a team environment because with that you also put in the appropriate amount of man management, he is not just saying this is what we are doing end of conversation he is saying this is what I would like to do... what are your thoughts?”

His influence on the side has so far been infectious and it was clear on Saturday that simply winning was not enough, he wants to gather a momentum of positivity, which means finishing a job off in style.

After James Ward completed the whitewash Smith said: “We spoke about wanting to get 5-0 because I think it sends the right message out and we wanted to keep that professionalism and finish the weekend in that way and they did that very well.”

Again Smith does not see this as a cause to sit back and celebrate, it is just the start of something encouraging that can hopefully cause a positive feeling which can reverberate across British tennis.

This man means business and like Sir Clive is not satisfied until the true rewards come to light and that means making players become winners.

Mixed feelings over Murray's absence

With the likes of James Ward and Jamie Baker securing confidence boosting wins and Ken Skupski and Colin Fleming beginning to form a strong doubles partnership in the Davis Cup team, perhaps Andy Murray was right in opting out of the competition for the time being.

To find out whether the world no4 was right to make that decision or not GB tennis blog went around Devonshire Park to gauge the views of the fans.

That was the views of the ticket holders but what does everyone else think? Please comment or simply vote in our poll.

Day Three in pictures

GB tennis blog watched the day where Great Britain secured their first 5-0 victory since 2001 with wins from James Ward and Jamie Baker. Here are the pictures that told the day that capped off a great weekend for British tennis.

(Click here to watch James Ward and Leon Smith in the post match press conference)

Britain secure whitewash

Great Britain sealed a 5-0 victory over Turkey following straight set wins by James Ward and Jamie Baker this afternoon.

The whitewash is Britain’s first since Roger Taylor led his side to the same score-line in 2001 against Portugal and was a terrific way to cap off a brilliant weekend for British tennis.

With Britain going into today with an unassailable 3-0 lead it was just left to Ward and Baker to carry on the victory parade.

Baker was first up against Tuna Altuna, who replaced the injured Marsel Ilhan. This news was probably a little disappointing for Baker who would have relished the challenge of playing a player just outside the top 100.

Instead he was faced with Altuna, a man who was actually playing like someone inside the top 100 at the beginning of the opening set, as he battered the ball from the back of the court to take a surprise 3-1 lead and if Baker hadn’t dug deep in the fifth game the set may well have gone the way of the 930th ranked Turk.

This game was the turning point for the Scot, as he began to dictate the points and with that won seven straight games to take control of the match. With Baker returning to the form he showed in his opening match he went on to take no time at all to finish off the tie.

Ward was then handed the task in completing the rout, which he grasped with incredible assurance, taking the first set 6-1 in less than 20 minutes. Ergun Zorlu, who started sluggish against Baker on Friday was the same again but as he did against the Scot improved in the second.

But the British no4 was not going to be troubled and held his nerve to take the match 6-4, albeit via a double fault from his opponent. (Click here to watch the final point of the Davis cup tie)

Captain Leon Smith was delighted to finish in style, saying: “I have really enjoyed this past week. It’s hard work, but very enjoyable. Today was good. It is sometimes difficult for players to come out when we have already won 3-0. But they went out and were very professional and did the business. Winning 5-0 sends out the right message.”

Smith will now look to build on the confidence that has been boosted when they face their next opponents in March next year.

Day Three: Order of play

Play begins at 12pm

Jamie Baker vs. Marsel Ilhan

James Ward vs. Ergun Zorlu

Although the tie is effectively over the chance of a whitewash makes the final day some what interesting. If you are interested and would like to see this match out then follow me on http://twitter.com/geoffberkeley to keep up with the latest action.

This result is just the first stepping stone in a long road, says Smith

Captain Leon Smith hopes that the result against Turkey can be the platform to rebuild the state of the men’s game in this country.

The 34-year-old Scot has also been handed the daunting task of being in charge of men’s tennis and realises that this result is only one of hopefully many.

He said: “The feeling of losing five in a row was not great. This is only one step in the right direction, and we realise that, it is not a question about getting carried away. The guys have done a great job here but it is one step, hopefully we are all really focused on. I think you can see that the way the spirit is on the court and on the bench. Everybody is united to improve the men’s game.”

Prior to the win against Turkey, there had been nothing but negatives coming out of British tennis, especially since the loss to Lithuania in March, which was then followed up by disastrous performances at Wimbledon. Smith believes that this could potentially kick start a fresh winning mentality which will hopefully carry the British players forward to the higher echelons of the sport.

“The important thing is that it is job done here it is now over to the players and the coaching teams to build momentum for the rest of the year, said Smith.

“The Davis Cup job is done until March and now it is a question of working on their own games looking to make an impact in Futures, Challengers, Tour qualifier’s and hopefully some Tour events. It is up to them to start building momentum and keep improving their games over the next six months.”

Players such as James Ward and Jamie Baker have yet to make a significant impact on the tour but over the past couple of months and especially this weekend have began to find their form.

Smith said: “They did well yesterday and now they go away with great confidence in winning in what was a pressured situation and they have come out on top. Importantly now they can build on that for the rest of the career.”

The added news that British no12 Richard Bloomfield reached the semi finals of the ATP tour 250 tournament in Newport, Rhode Island after coming through qualifying perhaps showed that the positive waves are beginning to spread.