Trio fight it out for Davis Cup spots

With the British No 1 having decided not to play in the tie following relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group II, the trio – respectively ranked 252, 258 and 288 in the world – have been given the task of trying to arrest Britain's slide. John Lloyd's team have not won since their World Group play-off against Croatia in 2007 and four successive defeats have plunged them into the third tier of the competition.

Baker is the only one of the trio to have won a Davis Cup match, having defeated Agustin Calleri in a dead rubber against Argentina in 2008. However, he has lost his other three matches while Evans was well beaten in both his singles clashes against Poland last autumn and Ward is yet to make his debut.

As expected, doubles duo Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski have been included following their rapid rise up the ATP rankings while fellow doubles specialist Ross Hutchins makes up the six-strong squad. Lloyd said: "This is a real opportunity for some of our younger players to gain valuable Davis Cup experience."

The tie will take place in Vilnius from 5-7 March. Lloyd must name his final team of four by midday on 23 February.

World number eight Robin Soderling registered his first ATP World Tour victory of 2010 at the ABN Amro tournament in Rotterdam yesterday, beating Florent Serra 4-6 6-4 6-1.

Women's world No 2 Dinara Safina has pulled out of next week's Dubai championships because of continuing problems with a back injury.