Andy Murray out of GB team for Davis Cup tie in Canada

Great Britain are set to be '¨without Andy Murray for their Davis Cup clash with Canada next weekend after he was not named in the initial four-man team.

Andy Murray in action during his fourth-round defeat by Germany's Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open. Picture: Aaron Favila/AP

Captain Leon Smith has not ruled out adding the world No 1 should he change his mind about playing in the World Group first-round tie in Ottawa, starting on 3 February.

“We will continue to speak with Andy in the coming days regarding his potential involvement and if he decides he would like to be part of the team then we can of course change the nominations as necessary,” said Smith.

Smith earlier acknowledged that it might be better for Murray to skip the tie in order to give his body a good period of rest after his shock fourth-round exit at the Australian Open.

Murray only had two weeks off after his extraordinary run of form at the end of the 2016 season, culminating in victory at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

His next tournament is scheduled to be the Dubai Duty Free Championships at the end of February.

Smith said: “To be honest, the best thing for his body is probably not to play, in my opinion.

“Don’t get me wrong – I’d love him to play. But, for his own good, it’s better for him to rest up and train and get ready for this next period, because there won’t be much time the rest of the year and this might be a really good time to do it.

“Once you play Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, then you hit the clay season and the grass season, there isn’t much time. So this is probably the best time.”

Assuming Murray sticks to his plan, it will be Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund, Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot who take on Canada at the TD Place Arena. Evans is set to be No 1 after his brilliant run to the fourth round in Melbourne, while in Edmund Britain have another top-50 player.

The Canada team is led by world No 3 Milos Raonic, who is through to the quarter-finals in Australia.

Raonic’s presence will make Canada favourites, although their next highest-ranked player is Peter Polansky at 132.

In Britain’s last match without Murray, in Serbia last summer, Edmund stepped up to earn an impressive victory for the 2015 champions.

Smith said: “British tennis continues to go from strength to strength and the momentum continues to build among our elite players continuing to make inroads up the rankings.

“After Melbourne, for only the second week in the last 39 years, we will have three British men in the ATP world’s top 50 singles rankings, as well as Jamie who ended 2016 as part of the No 1 doubles team.

“We know the challenge the Canadian team poses – they have vast experience in singles and doubles. But we also have a strong team with a proven track record in Davis Cup.”

The winners of the tie will play either France or Japan in the quarter-finals in April, with the losers facing a relegation play-off in September.