Britain Rocks Davis Cup to Smash Turkey out of the Tournament
As the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup come to a close, the British team defeated Turkey 5-0 to advance to the semi-finals and managed to achieve their win without Andy Murray, their star player. Murray, who also missed the team’s match in March when they were defeated by Lithuania, put the team in danger of being relegated to the lowest tier of the competition. Despite this, Murray is often cited as the reason that the team has even managed to make it this far in the tournament.
However, the British team is often guilty of relying too much on Murray, who has many prior commitments as the British number one. Murray was not been able to make the team’s Davis Cup quarter-finals tie, mainly because the tournaments quarter-finals took place so close to the recent Wimbledon tournament.
One of the main issues that the team is facing, as demonstrated by the lack of British tennis showings at Wimbledon, is that the nation is lacking a serious amount of tennis talent. This is highlighted by the fact that they barely managed to make it into the Davis Cup tournament. Unless the nation manages to sustain younger up-and-coming tennis talent, the British team's reliance on one player to take them to the Davis Cup finals seems unrealistic.
Yet despite leaning too much on Murray, the team has been able to rise to the challenge and win on their own. This has been demonstrated by a recent doubles match when Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski won 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 over Ergun Zorlu and Haluk Akkoyun in under two hours. Fleming and Skupski have been quietly establishing their reputation as doubles players on the ATP and prove that Britain may just have tennis talent after all.
While Fleming and Skupski won their doubles match, teammate Jamie Baker managed to defeat Tuna Altuna, and James Ward beat Ergun Zorlu in straight sets. Proving that Murray does not necessarily need to be there for every match and that it is possible for the British team to win in the finals.
This beginning of the Davis Cup also highlighted the start of the British team’s new captain Leon Smith. Smith managed to help the team save themselves from being completely humiliated by claiming a victory against Turkey. This win also allowed the team to avoid relegation to the competition's lowest tier. Maybe all the team really needed was a new captain and not Murray to save the day?
“My first tie as captain couldn’t have gone better,” said Smith. "It’s been a very good week in terms of preparation and the matches themselves. The players worked tirelessly to get the win, and the spirit has been great. But we’re not getting carried away. This is one step, but it’s a step in the right direction," he added.
Smith, who is decidedly positive about the team’s future, insists that there is no problem integrating their best player back into the team, despite the picture that has been painted about Murray’s absences.
"They can go away with great confidence from winning in what is a pressure situation and they can build on that for the rest of the year," Smith also shared about the team’s future.
Nevertheless, this weekend's victory seemed to be a good confidence boost for the players, despite the real test that is yet to come. After all, they will start to play against stronger teams as the tournament progresses. So, what will they do if Murray doesn't make any more matches? After their recent win, it's safe to say that Britain still rocks, so don't count them out of the Davis Cup just yet.
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