Davis Cup coach John Lloyd defends star player Andy Murray
Great Britain will struggle without Andy Murray
Also In The News
|
Cristiano Ronaldo put on a master class against  |
Thursday, 31, Jan 2008 09:41
Great Britain Davis Cup coach John Lloyd has defended Andy Murray after the Scotsman pulled out of next week's tie against Argentina.
The 20-year-old pulled out of the tie to be played at Buenos Aires with a knee injury, but he didn't directly contact Lloyd to tell him, instead the coach found out from a third party.
"He's played in all the matches that I've been involved in so far, so as far as I'm concerned he is [committed]," said Lloyd.
"He says he's very disappointed and obviously I take him at his word on that. I don't think he would pull out unless there was an injury, why would he? This is a great occasion for him.
"The team is very disappointed but what can you do? It's one of those things," added Llyod, who will now go with Alex Bogdanovic and Jamie Baker in the singles, and Jamie Murray and Ross Hutchins in the doubles.
There have been doubts over Murray's commitment to the Davis Cup after he talked about retirement from the competition earlier this season. He also said: "It's a pretty easy option just to play in Britain but, when it's an away tie, the last thing I want to be is on the tour and travelling here and there all over the place."
With the absence of Murray, Argentinean star Jose Acasuso has dismissed Britain's hopes of beating the hosts by claiming "without Murray they have no chance".