And, he says, the credit must go to Murray for that. But I guess at some point, especially where we are in the world group, playing against great teams, some days will be like that. Retaining the Olympic title was hardly any less enjoyable than when he did so the first time – no man or woman had previously won two successive singles gold medals.
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With Murray having looked jaded during the week’s practice at the Emirates Arena and also digesting the news of the death of his grandfather, I’d be looking to take him on in this one if I were wanting a bet.
The 27-year-old said: ” I will try to do a different match from Rio.
Were a similarly-tough match unfold in the faster indoor conditions of Glasgow and Del Potro edge it, Smith’s gamble could be exposed.
Dan Evans, who narrowly missed out on playing despite being at home on indoor courts, will have been looking on in frustration after Edmund unravelled from a position of strength. “I will try to play aggressive all the time”.
Pella has been a crucial member of the Argentine team in this year’s Davis Cup campaign, winning a key singles match in a road victory over Poland in the first round and teaming with Del Potro to snag the all-important doubles point in an away triumph against Italy in the quarterfinals in July.
However, it’s in the second rubber of the day – one which sees Kyle Edmund take on Guido Pella – that my best bet comes.
“My preparations for the tie have been less than ideal because my knee flared up after the Olympic Games in Rio”, Coric said.
“I took a few days off after NY and came here and have been practising since Sunday”. Del Potro hasn’t played a singles rubber in the Davis Cup for four years following three wrist operations that nearly saw him quit the game. I’ve enjoyed the last two ties I’ve played in.
“There were no indoor courts when they were young, so we were always playing things in the house with balloons, bean bags and ping-pong balls, but it shows that you can develop the skills for any sport by playing actively at home”. France is without Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who have both been ruled out by knee problems.
The left-handed Lopez served past Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 while the 13th-ranked Ferrer outplayed Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. I’m very proud of how I fought, I tried as best as I could’.
When the draw was completed at the team hotel on Thursday afternoon, the contrasting body languages were quite evident.
Friday’s singles rubbers pit the respective number one and number two-ranked players from each country against each other, with the number ones doing battle first up on Sunday.
The Brit, who has recently reached a career high of 55 in the world, made an impressive start, taking the opening set on a tie break.
The doubles on Saturday pits French Open champions Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez against Leander Paes and Myneni.
But in the very next game, match point number two was duly converted with an ace and there was nothing at all even the greatest returner in the world could do about it.
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An 8,000-strong crowd will hope to roar Britain to victory, as they did in last year’s ties here against the United States of America and Australia.
