Andy Murray is hoping to be part of the Great Britain Davis Cup team that will make a return to Scotland this year.
It would be a very nice homecoming for Murray who has not had many chances to play back home in Scotland.
Currently No 52 in the world, Murray faces a continuing fitness battle, having undergone hip resurfacing surgery in 2019, as he now looks ahead to the last Grand Slam of the year in New York and the Davis Cup. A former coach of Murray, Smith is all too aware of how inspirational a figure the three-time major champion remains, but has vowed to pick form over friendship when he selects his players in Glasgow.
He said:
"As captain, I look at the make-up of the team compared to when I started 12 years ago and it's completely different. (It's not just the) problem and difficult decision around who gets to play on each match-day — in the two singles and the doubles — even just picking the squad takes a lot of thought."
He continued:
"I've got relationships in varying ways with all of the players. I go a long way back with Andy, in particular, but my job is to look at it objectively and to do whatever I can to win. You pick on merit. You pick on a multitude of factors — form, match-ups against the opposition, surface, fitness, health... everything goes into it. All I know is that it's a good problem to have that we've got such a high calibre of player across both the singles and doubles."