GB to face Ukraine without Murray

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 11:29

Andy Murray has withdrawn from this weekends GB Davis Cup tie against Ukraine.

The world No.4 was forced to pull out of last weeks Dubai ATP World Tour event at the quarter-final stage and after tests has been told to rest for at least seven days.

AEGON GB captain John Lloyd has already picked Josh Goodall, Chris Eaton and Ross Hutchins to play in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 clash which begins in Glasgow on Friday.

‘We have five players up here who are desperate to play’ – Lloyd

He says he and Paul Annacone will decide between the other two players training with the squad this week Colin Fleming and James Ward who will replace Murray in the final four.

“Following his withdrawal from the Dubai Open, Andy’s condition hasn’t improved, said a spokesman for Andy Murray in a statement on Monday morning.

After daily visits from the LTA doctor and a number of medical tests, Andy has been told to rest for at least seven days to overcome his virus.

Andy is greatly disappointed that he has to pull out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie as he was looking forward to playing for Great Britain in front of his home crowd.

Andy will be right behind John Lloyd and the team when they compete against Ukraine this Friday.

Lloyd expressed his disappointment at the news but said he still believes the players he has at his disposal can get the job done.

Its obviously disappointing that Andy is unable to play in this Davis Cup tie but our medical team has been monitoring Andy closely and dont feel that he is in a position to compete, Lloyd said.

We all hope he makes a swift recovery and is back playing again soon. I now need to focus on preparing the team for the tie against Ukraine we have five players up here who are desperate to play and they have all impressed me in the last week.

The play-offs demonstrated that these guys can handle long matches mentally and physically so Paul Annacone and I will discuss who will replace Andy in the team and make a decision in the next couple of days.

With the support of a vocal home crowd I firmly believe that this is a very winnable match for us.

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