Doubles make up for Andy absence

JAMIE Murray and Neal Skupski (pictured) were Great Britain’s Davis Cup heroes once again as a team missing Andy Murray defeated Kazakhstan to set up a quarter-final against Germany today.

Andy Murray ground out a dramatic victory over

Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in nearly three hours on Wednesday but was far from his best and admitted afterwards he was carrying extra weight and was not feeling good about his game.

Captain Leon Smith decided to leave him out for this one, with Kyle Edmund stepping in and stepping up in a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin that was arguably his best performance of the season. That gave Dan Evans the chance to send Britain through but, as against Dutchman Robin Haase on Wednesday, he was unable to build on a positive start against the unpredictable Alexander Bublik and fell to a 5-7 6-4 6-1 defeat.

With Britain unable to claim one of the two spots reserved for best-placed runners-up because of the number of sets they had lost, it was all or nothing for Jamie Murray and Skupski against Bublik and Kukushkin.

But the British pair, who had excelled against Holland, produced another brilliant performance, showing the value of having a top doubles team in a 6-1 6-4 victory.

There will be plenty to mull over selection-wise today for Smith, but Edmund’s performance has surely booked his spot in the side along with the doubles pair.

A brilliant season has carried Evans to the British No.1 spot, but the 29-year-old appears to have hit the wall over the last month or two and has lacked energy this week.

The fast, bouncy court does not suit the man from Birmingham and, if Andy Murray is fit, it seems likely he will not play against Germany.

Evans said: “I’ve obviously had two tough days. It’s disappointing.”

Asked about Britain’s strength in depth, Evans said with a wry smile: “At the minute, the number one guy is the weak one.”