Davis Cup: Lloyd finds plus points despite loss

Published on Saturday 7 March 2009 18:50

THE whole point of John Lloyd's play-offs was to identify guys who really wanted to win at Davis Cup and had the tenacity and the mentality to do so.

It was a controversial decision but on the evidence of yesterday, he has at least found players with the will, now they just need the wherewithal. Although Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins did not pull off the shock required to ensure Great Britain retained even a small chance of turning this tie around, they were obviously reluctant to relinquish the fingernail grip they had on it.

Having lost both Friday's singles rubbers, the portents were ominous. It is 79 years since a Great Britain team have successfully fought their way back from a 2-0 deficit. And given the four main protagonists had amassed a grand total of two Davis Cup appearances between them coming into the tie (actually, Ross Hutchins had appeared in two, the other three were rookies), it was always a pretty unrealistic ask.

As it was, the doubles pairing came closer than many imagined, taking the Ukraine duo into a fifth set decider, eventually losing out 4-6 6-3 3-6 7-5 4-6. It means Britain will now have to win their next Euro/Africa Zone Group One tie, in September, against Poland. Afterwards Lloyd said that while some people would suggest it was a case of same old, same old, as far as his side were concerned, he had seen some signs of positivity. "The way I look at it, when we have our No.1 player available we are an established Group One team, with an outside chance at the World Group, but without him we have got to fight for everything. But I'm sure we will have him back for September," said the team captain, who now wants his players to push themselves further in a bid to move up the rankings and offer Andy Murray more credible backing. "The experience of this week will hopefully push these players on to another level, so hopefully we can grind out some of these matches. They now know the work they have to put in to play at this level, in this kind of competition, under this kind of pressure. In the past they have maybe had it too easy but this is a tougher regime."

He believes that in the past British players have been allowed to coast along. That was the reason he ruled out the likes of Alex Bogdanovic for this tie and introduced the play-offs to decide who would make the team. Given that objective, he must have been delighted with Fleming's response yesterday. The Scot has been back in the game for just seven months, and stepped in to partner Ross Hutchins only after Andy Murray's withdrawal, yet he showed the fire and, at times finesse, his team captain has been demanding. He also had the physical fortitude to battle long into the fifth set.

Partnering Sergiy Stakovsky, was Sergeiy Bubka, son of the Olympic pole vault champion, but, he hardly missed a return and rarely struggled on serve meaning it was the British duo who had to raise the bar to ensure an ongoing involvement in this tie. From the outset the match was pumped up, the atmosphere inside the Braehead Arena was charged with hope, and as the match progressed, excitement. The virus-stricken Andy Murray may not have been involved but he would have approved of the razzmatazz, more reminiscent of the US Open than the more sombre tournaments staged on these shores.

Hutchins and Fleming responded to it. Having won the toss, it was the more experienced of the GB pairing who served first and the match was three games old before anyone dropped a point on serve. The GB couple had safely negotiated their service games and then pushed Bubka all the way as they tried to get an early jump on their opponents. Unfortunately the visitors held their nerve and then broke Hutchins in the next game. It was all they needed to eventually see out the first set and leave the hosts playing catch-up.

It took until the eighth game of the next set before the GB lads could respond in kind, leaving Fleming to serve out and win the second set 6-3. Every now and again the British pairing were able to produce the kind of winners that stoked up the fire in their own bellies and hyped up the 3,800 noisy spectators. In a nip and tuck match, it was Ukraine who won the third set but unlike GB sides of yore, there was no crumbling. There was too much fight in Hutchins and Fleming for that and they proved that by winning the next set 7-5 to force a fifth-set decider.

Even when they went 3-5 down, there was no sign of a towel being thrown in. It was Fleming who had to hang on, serving in the ninth game and sucessfully saving two match points before taking it to 4-5. It wasn't enough. But what it did show was that once the British players address their game, at least we have one or two other than Murray with the heart for the battle.

Net gain for Scot as he sparkles under big-game pressure

SOME players freeze on the big stage and others are born for that kind of pressure. In Colin Fleming, Davis Cup captain John Lloyd has unearthed a guy who fits into the latter category.

On his Great Britain debut, partnering Ross Hutchins in the doubles, the Scot ensured that when the team for the autumn tie against Poland is selected, his name won't be far from the reckoning. The match ended in defeat but there is no doubt Fleming triumphed.

"Colin proved he was ready. He is very flexible and can play doubles and singles and if we had won the doubles I would possibly have put him in to play one of the (Sunday] singles. Colin played very well," said Lloyd.

He said it was too early to say whether Fleming would be hand-picked next time, saying he may stay with the play-off system, but conceded that he would be happy if one or two of the players hurtled up the rankings between now and then and forced his hand.

Fleming, who said the atmosphere was "second to none", said he definitely wanted another taste of the action. "It was the biggest stage I have ever played on and it could have gone one of two ways, wilt under the pressure or rise to it and I feel like I rose to it very well and played some good tennis. It's great to now have that knowledge that I can play well on the big occasion."