Andy Murray has cast doubt over his participation in this year's
Davis Cup following his early exit from the
US Open, instead suggesting that his spot could go to
Jack Draper.
Earlier this month, former world No. 1 Murray was confirmed as part of the British team for the Davis Cup, which will be held at the AO Arena in Manchester between the 12th and 17th September.
This came after the Scot looked to be on good form. Despite a disappointing defeat in the second round of Wimbledon, he himself expressed that he felt as though he was playing his best tennis since 2017, when a serious hip injury and subsequent surgery forced his level to drop.
Murray: other players deserve spot ahead of me
However, despite a strong start at the US Open for Murray, securing a straight-sets victory over Corentin Moutet, the 36-year-old was ultimately ousted in the second round by nineteenth seed
Grigor Dimitrov.
Following his defeat, Murray implied that he won't be a part of the team that goes to Manchester to play in the group against Australia, France, and Switzerland.
"Obviously the plan was to play Davis Cup, but if I’m being honest, you know, the other guys deserve to play ahead of me," he said.
Murray points out Draper's success
In particular, Murray pointed out 21-year-old Draper, who is not currently part of the Davis Cup team captained by Leon Smith. He has been dealing with injuries that have taken him out of parts of the 2023 season but has now progressed through to the third round in New York after he defeated 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5.
"Yeah, I know it’s obviously probably a difficult situation, like, obviously for Leon [Smith] with Jack [Draper]. He’s had quite a few injuries coming in, but if he’s fit and healthy, he’s obviously playing very well.
“You know, Cam [Norrie] and Evo [Dan Evans], you know, Evo has had a great run in Washington. So yeah, we’ll see about Davis Cup and what happens there. Yeah, I think there is probably a chance that I’m not on the team. Yeah, see where I go from there," Murray explained.