We need more than Murray
LEON SMITH admits the “conveyor belt” of talent that helped France to their Davis Cup win shows no sign of being replicated in Britain.
The quarter-final in Rouen took a farcical turn after the meaningful action ended on Saturday.
Victory for Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut in the doubles added to singles wins for Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy – but rules required the dead rubbers to be played.
Record books will show Dan Evans defeated Benneteau 6-1 6-2 before a 6-4 6-4 win for Chardy over Kyle Edmund made it 4-1 to France.
What won’t be recorded is that a contest, never serious, at one stage saw Evans taking on Benneteau, Nicolas Mahut and French captain Yannick Noah. But the International Tennis Federation drew the line at the leader of Stirling University’s Barmy Army joining Evans on court to even up the numbers.
And this tie exposed the fact GB resources below Andy Murray remain thin at the top level.
Captain Smith said: “France have 19 in the top 200. We’ve got four in the top 100 and then that’s it. It just means you’ve got more of a conveyor belt coming through.
“Do I think it’s round the corner? Maybe with a couple but there’s certainly not a conveyor belt. It’s an endless debate. But the bottom line is it would be nice to have more depth.”