Britain begin Davis Cup salvage mission

Published on Thursday 8 July 2010 19:06

Great Britain's descent into the Davis Cup depths will be laid bare today when Jamie Baker launches their bid to halt a five-match losing run against a player ranked outside the world's top 850 and playing his first match on grass.

After the humiliation of defeat by Lithuania in March, Britain - with a new captain at the helm in Leon Smith - must beat Turkey at Eastbourne's Devonshire Park this weekend to avoid relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group III, the lowest tier of the competition.

Although the hosts are the heavy favourites, it is almost 20 years since Britain won a Davis Cup tie without any of the big three of Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Andy Murray, who has again made himself unavailable for the match.

With British No 2 Alex Bogdanovic also deciding against a return to Davis Cup action, it is Baker and James Ward, plus doubles pair Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski, who will attempt to secure a first win since Henman's last match in 2007.

Ward is returning to the scene of the best week of his career when he reached the quarter-finals of the Aegon International last month, while he also beat Baker last weekend to win a Futures event in Manchester, and he insists pressure will not be a factor.

The British No 4, who won the opening rubber against Lithuania, said: "It obviously helps a lot, coming back to play on Centre Court where I played three good matches. It was nice to play in Lithuania. I was up first and beat their number two in a pressure situation.

"And obviously the last few weeks, playing here at Eastbourne and last week in Manchester as well, you're playing against Brits and everyone wants to take your scalp because you're playing Davis Cup the week after. It's a bit more pressure playing those tournaments than this."

After Baker has opened proceedings against 25-year-old Ergun Zorlu, who combines his tennis career with his university studies, Ward will play what could be the key rubber of the match against Turkish No 1 Marsel Ilhan.

The 23-year-old is ranked only three places outside the top 100, well above any of the other players on show, and came through qualifying to reach the second round at Wimbledon.

Smith, who coached Murray when he was a junior, took over from John Lloyd following the Lithuania loss and believes a positive approach to a difficult situation can bring the rewards British tennis is craving. The Scot said: "We're all really positive about how we've been getting on as a team and the work we've been putting in. We're relaxed but focused at the same time and really looking forward to the challenge. We can't control the result but what we have controlled is how we've prepared, and we're well prepared."