A new low?

After a fifth defeat on the bounce Britain's Davis Cup team now face the uninspiring task of a relegation playoff against Turkey in September.


If John Lloyd's team lose that tie then it's relegation to the bottom league of tennis into the catchy named Europe/African Zone group III.


In Britain's long history of competing in the Davis Cup it's team has never sunk so low. There is little doubt that interest in the competition has fallen away since Henman's retirement in 2007.


That match which was notably Team GB's last victory was held in front of a capacity crowd on Court One at Wimbledon.


Attending the match their was a sense that following Henman and Rusedski's retirement that the team may struggle to maintain it's position. So it came as no surprise that despite Andy Murray's valiant efforts that the team dropped out of the elite group the next year.


However it is unlikely that many of the crowd that stood to applaud Henman off court that day believed that they were witnessing the teams final victory of the decade.


So where does the British team go from here? Firstly they must overcome Turkey at all costs - a further drop down the tiers of the the Davis Cup would not only inflict further damage on a team low on confidence it would also make the journey back to the world group a mammoth task. As it stands the earliest we can get back to the world group would is 2013 if they lose to Turkey then that becomes 2014.


Questions must also be asked of cup captain John Lloyd. No captain has ever presided over such an unbroken run of failure. Many will sympathise with Lloyd, arguing that he has had precious talent at his disposal. Yet the presence of Andy Murray should have made life much easier but alas to no avail.


Now it's unlikely that the British no.1 will make himself available for the next few ties-and who can blame him? He can have little appetite taking time out of his tour schedule while on the hunt for a maiden grand slam to play ties against teams that fail to boast any players ranked inside the top 100.

Still the position of John Lloyd and Roger Draper will be under scrutiny over the coming weeks and it is unlikley that both will still be in their jobs come September.

Brits on Tour Week 2

Women's No.1 Elena Baltacha has qualified for her second tour event in a row this week at the Hobart international in Australia.

The world no.85 will face Jelena Dokic in the first round having lost against her opponent in there only previous meeting at Wimbledon back in 2003.

Baltacha will be delighted with her victory over Anna Chakvetadze a player who won the Hobart cup only 2 years ago.

On the men's side Dan Evans is one match away from Qualifying for the Heineken Open in Auckland and faces Tsung-Hua Yang for a place in the main draw.

The 18 year old player from Chinese Tapai is currently ranked at 341 although could prove a tough test for Evans after an impresssive victory over world no.244 Jan Minar.

Meanwhile following a successful run at the Hopman Cup world no.4 Andy Murray is resting ahead of an assault on the Australian Open title, while many other Brits are gearing up for the Qualifiers which start mid week.

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Update 11/10/2010:

Evans beats Yang in 3 sets to reach the main draw at Auckland. The 19 year old will face fellow qualifier and world no.209 Michael Lammer in the first round.

Brits miss out on Hopman Trophy

Although Team GB failed to lift the Hopman Cup earlier today both Andy Murray and Laura Robson can take some big positives from the event.

Over the past week it has been a pleasure to see the pair team up together on court. Robson has had the benefit of playing alongside the world no.4 in doubles and against some top players on the WTA circuit.

Her victory in the final against the world no.24 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1 7-6 will provide a massive confidence boost and came ahead of the news she had been given a wildcard into the Aussie Open qualifiers.

After coming so close at the US open British fans have been given more cause to be hopeful ahead of this years Australian Open.

It would be fantastic if Robson could join Baltacha and O'Brien in the main draw down under and would highlight the real progress that is being made in the women's game at present.

As for Mr Murray the tournament gave him a chance to prepare ahead of the Australian Open in singles and the rare opportunity to relax somewhat on court in his mixed doubles.


There can be no doubt that he represented the senior party in the pairing but this is a role that Murray has thrived in before. His performances in the Davis Cup last year were excellent and lifted a team that is suffering from an alarming lack of depth.


No one doubts that Murray represents the immediate future of British tennis but perhaps he already recognises that Robson is in the same position that he found himself in 3 or 4 years ago.

It is perhaps a little surprising that it was Murray who suffered a singles defeat against Robredo in the final but he is unlikely to be overly concerned.

The Hopman cup a tournament that has been off the British radar since the days of Jo Durie and Jeremy Bates, provided everything the pair were looking for (except the trophy)!

Here's hoping that we can see the two pairing up together in the near future, perhaps not to win major titles but to foster the sort of camaraderie that has been somewhat lacking in the past.

Are the top 4 in Men's tennis more dominant than ever before?

(Written on the 9th January)

Ahead of the new season and with the establishment of what seems to be 4 dominant players at the top of the game, what do you think the chances of all 4 reaching the semi's at each of this years grand slams?

Assuming all remain fit, is there a chance they could do it?

Aus Open:
This is the most likely slam for all 4 to make the semi's in my opinion. Murray has started the new seaon very strongly and Nadal is looking more consistent on the slower hard courts. Federer has an excellent record Down Under and should be shoe-in for a semi final berth. As for Djockovic the winner at Melbourne Park last year despite losing to Gulbis in Brisbane his is likely to up his game to defend his title.If someone is to come unstuck early on it may be against an on fire Nalbandian or Safin. Nadal has also struggled with hard flat hitters on this sort of surface so someone like Blake or Tsonga could cause him a few difficulties. The Australian Open also has a habit of throwing up a suprise package. Relative unknowns have reached the finals over the years including Gonzalez, Schuttler, Baghdatis and Tsonga last year.

French Open:
A good chance Nadal will bag another title here, the Spaniard is arguable the greatest clay court player in the games history and it would be a brave man to bet against him going far again this year. Last year we also saw that Federer and Djockovic are the best behind the imperious Nadal and both stand a good chance of reaching the last 4 this year as well. This leaves Murray as the weak link for Roland Garros. After teaming up with former champion Alex Correjta last year Murray showed signs of improvement on the red clay beating the clay court specialist Jose Acasuso before falling to Nicolas Almangro in the last 32.It is clearly a big ask for Murray to reach the semi-finals this year and there are perhaps numerous player more than capable of defeating the Scot on their day. Ernst Gulbis, Nicolas Almangro and Nickolay Davydenko would all be confident of victory against Murray in Paris.

Wimbeldon:

Nadal and Federer are almost certain to reach the last 4 again this year and Murray stands a pretty good chance as well if given a reasonable draw. In-fact, despite reaching the final 4 in 2007, Djockovic may prove the weak link here. Last year he seemed very rusty at the net and needs to improve his volleys if he is going to go far at Wimbeldon again. Players such as Roddick, Karlovic, Ancic and even Soderling or Youzney could all be stern tests this year.

US Open:
I think that Federer has been most dominant at the US in recent years and stands a pretty good chance of adding a sixth title to his collection. Both Djockovic and Murray are very strong at Flushing meadows and i would expect them to do well again this year. If feel that Nadal again may be the most likely to fall at the US. As with the Australian Open Nadal is vulnerable to strong flat hitting players such as Blake and Tsonga. The 2003 champion Andy Roddick should also not be counted out. With the vocal support of his home fans he is more than capable of taking out one of the big four.It is very unlikely that the top 4 all meet their seedings and get through to the semi-finals of the slams. In fact this has only happened 3 times in the 21st century. Djockovic reaching the semi's at Wimbeldon and Murray at the French Open are perhaps the two least likely to happen. Federer's semi-final run must come to an end at some point but who outside of the top 4 can take him out over 5 sets? As for Nadal he is dominant on clay, very strong on grass and continually improving on hard courts but it is still a big ask to make the semis at all 4 this year.One thing that is certain, these 4 players will battle on every stage for the big prizes.