The defence rests after painful day on court . . .
ANDY MURRAY limped out of the Emirates Arena last night as Great Britain’s defence of their Davis Cup trophy came to an end at the semifinal stage against Argentina.
While the world No.2 pushed himself through the pain barrier to keep home hopes of a famous recovery alive – he felt a sharp pain in his right thigh which required lengthy offcourt treatment during his 63, 62, 63 win against Guido Pella – the decisive final rubber went the way of the South Americans when Leonardo Mayer got the better of Dan Evans 46, 63, 62, 64.
Mayer was a surprise replacement for the fatigued Juan Martin del Potro but it is Argentina, winners by a 32 scoreline, who travel to Croatia to contest the final in November as they endeavour to win this trophy for the very first time.
Having played as much tennis as anyone in the last three months – including all three days here – Murray said yesterday that he required a rest as soon as possible.
That may not be easy to achieve, as he will host his own ‘Andy Murray Live’ charity exhibition event at a sellout SSE Hydro on Wednesday night and is currently entered into tour events in Beijing and Shanghai before the season reaches its climax at the ATP Tour finals in London in November.
It is to be hoped the injury does not prove costly to the Scot’s hopes of overhauling Novak Djokovic as world No.1.
“It was [worrying] because I have never had any muscle injuries before,” said Murray. “I just felt a lot of sharp pain in my right quad so I will have to see. I have played so much tennis in the last few months so I need a rest now. Thankfully, I managed to get it done in straight sets. I wasn’t thinking about withdrawing, I was more concerned about how my leg was.
“There’s not many times in the tennis season when it’s easy to fit extra stuff in,” he added. “Obviously it [the timing of the exhibition] is not ideal but it’s the time that was the best date available. I’ve been trying to set it up for a few years so hopefully I’ll be okay on Wednesday.”
The captain Leon Smith praised the efforts of both Murray brothers, who St Mirren have begun the search for their fifth manager in just two-and-ahalf years, with former incumbent Gus MacPherson among those under consideration to replace Alex Rae who has been sacked after just nine months in charge,
Rae and his assistant David Farrell paid the price for the Paisley side’s poor start to the season, with St Mirren sitting bottom of the Ladbrokes Championship with no wins from their opening six games.
Rae becomes the fourth manager in succession to last less than a year in situ at the Paisley 2021 Stadium, following in the footsteps of Tommy Craig, Gary Teale and Ian Murray who all presided over relatively brief reigns.
Rae had been a surprise choice to replace Murray last December, having not worked as a manager since leaving Dundee in 2008. But he soon steadied the ship, steering St Mirren away from relegation danger and eventually into a sixth-place finish.
Despite making wholesale changes to his squad in the summer – signing nine players and releasing 13 – the former Rangers midfielder could not continue that progress into the new season and has now paid the ultimate price.
A statement on the St Mirren website read: “St Mirren have terminated the contracts of both manager Alex Rae and assistant manager David Farrell.
“The head of the club’s academy, Allan McManus, will take the team on an interim basis until a successor is appointed. This will be the Board’s immediate priority.
“The Board would like to thank