Glasgow kiss is no fun for me
Davis Cup KO leaves stale Sunday for Andy
Andy Murray doesn’t know if today will be his final competitive match in Scotland – he just wishes it was more than a dead rubber.
Defeat to the Dutch on Friday confirmed Great Britain’s exit from the Davis Cup, having already lost to the USA.
Today’s tie with Kazakhstan will count for nothing, although that won’t stop fans flocking to the Emirates Arena in Glasgow in the hope of seeing Murray.
Captain Leon Smith has to decide if the 35-year-old, who has played only doubles with Joe Salisbury this week, will contest a singles match.
Murray admits motivation for a match with nothing at stake wi l l hardly get the competitive juices flowing.
The former world No.1 said: “I have not met a player who loves playing dead rubbers and dead matches. It’s difficult to get motivated. The way we have lost these two matches as well makes that even tougher. It’s a slight flaw with this format in that essentially on the Sunday, the final day, there is no tennis.
“There’s tennis but it’s kind of dead, irrelevant, the results of it. That’s what brings the energy and the passion from the fans and players. I wish we were still alive on Sunday.”
Murray played his 50th
Davis Cup tie on Friday night and doesn’t know how many more cracks he will get at the World Cup of Tennis.
Despite this disappointing week, Smith can call on quality in Cam Norrie, Jack Draper and Dan Evans, with Kyle Edmund on his way back from injury.
In the doubles, Salisbury and Neal Skupski are world No.1 and No. 3 respectively – even if the Scots skipper hasn’t played them together this week.
Smith went with the Murray/ Salisbury partnership, which got to the Olympic quarterfinals, and although they played well, they lost both matches.
Murray said: “When we played last year together, my feeling was we had the potential to play top-level doubles together.
“Our games complement each other pretty well. But I know when you lose it’s easy to say – and I’m thinking the same thing right now – should I have played or should Neal have played or whatever?
“When you get to sort of my age and this stage of your career, I don’t know how many opportunities I’ll get to still be part of this team.
“We’ve got a lot of depth now in the singles and the doubles. It makes it tougher. I loved all of the chances I got to play here.”
While Murray faces Davis Cup dejection, news of Roger Federer’s imminent retirement is another sad day for the sport.
The Scot is holding out hope he’ll get a shot to play one last time with him in the Laver Cup – a Europe v rest of the world event – in London this week. It will be the 41-year- old’s final tourney and Murray admits he was “lucky” to compete against him on the biggest stages.
He said: “At the time I probably didn’t appreciate it as much but now, looking back, it is pretty amazing. It’s incredible what he achieved and also what Rafa (Nadal) and Novak (Djokovic) have done as well.
“It’s a sad day for the sport again. An unbelievable career, the longevity he’s had.
“What he did in the 2018 Australian Open, when he came back from the knee surgery, was incredible. The way he played the game, conducted himself, I think all of the players respected him for that.
“I don’t know how much he wil l be able to play ( Laver Cup), I haven’t spoken to him about that. But maybe I’ll get the opportunity to share a court with him. That would be special.”