It was as late as Tuesday evening that Evans, who wasn’t originally selected in Leon Smith’s team, arrived in Glasgow, and even then his presence was only a precaution after Kyle Edmund fell in practice. “It’s going to be a big rubber for them”.
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But no. In a copybook piece of marketing and gamesmanship, it is in Glasgow. “The majority of the support is going to be for him, that’s understandable”, he said. Great Britain will be hoping Andy Murray will have already clinched the tie. “He is quite an explosive player, but at the same time it’s a tough match-up for him as well”.
“Jamie has made the doubles final in the last two Grand Slams so he’s a very formidable opponent in his own right”.
This is a fresh breath of Davis Cup drama in the modern age when ATP tennis is rarely captivated by team competitions.
The 25-year-old joins brothers Andy and Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot in a team trying to reach their first final since 1978. Off the court, too, Murray has been offering a few words of advice and encouragement to a young man just starting out on the tour. He represents urgency and fight, and the Davis Cup title could be his glorious swan song. He won three consecutive matches against France in the quarterfinals as he got the final point against Gilles Simon as he ran out of energy playing for three consecutive days.
“He asked me to come to be on standby and I said yes”.
“I know Thanasi well”.
Firstly, Bernard Tomic had some harsh words about “the establishment” at Wimbledon, and the less said about the recent mutterings of Nick Kyrgios the better, leaving Aussie battler Lleyton Hewitt, and bright-eyed and bushy tailed Thanasi Kokkinakis who seems to have avoided the rebellious streak that has followed his older compatriots (for now, anyway)! He just said someone was injured. We felt that, mutually, this was the best fit for him and the best fit for the team. It’s a good opportunity to be around all the guys again, I haven’t been in this environment for a while.
Ironically, Edmund survived a friendly training session on Monday with Scottish football giants Celtic across the road from the Davis Cup venue only to go down on the tennis court.
“He loves the team environment”.
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Tara McGregor-Woodhams, Head of Brand & Sponsorship, Aegon United Kingdom said: “I’m extremely proud of the work that Aegon does to help children in the communities around us”. It’s one match at a time, but whatever happens this weekend, we’re on the verge of something pretty good. Ideally for Great Britain, Murray would record a straight-sets victory in about two hours, conserving his energy for a possible doubles match the next day and saving his legs for the reverse singles on Sunday.
