As Great Britain reflect on their loss to Argentina in the semi-final of the Davis Cup, team captain Leon Smith has swiftly responded to criticism of his team’s performance over the weekend.
After losing both of their opening matches on Friday, the British team reignited their hopes of winning the tie after levelling 2-2 with the help of the Murray brothers. The comeback failed to to be completed as Dan Evans was outplayed in four sets by former world No.21 Leonardo Mayer.
“We lost in the semi-final, so of course it sucks.” Smith said during his Sunday press conference. “It feels rough and so it should. We all worked really hard to get to this point.”
The disappointment expressed by the Captain was also felt by Evans, who was visibly despondent as he fulfilled his media commitments. Evans’ loss has ended Britain’s Davis cup winning streak of six consecutive tie’s.
“It’s not a nice feeling. ” Evans said. “It’s pretty road right now, you do feel like you’re the one that has lost the match.”
As scrutiny surrounds the British camp, Smith remains defiant in what the future holds for him and his team. Britain currently has four players ranked inside the top 100 on the ATP tour. Whilst this figure is towered over by Argentina’s nine, Smith gloated with pride as he talked about his player’s triumphs, particularly world No.2 Andy Murray.
“Our team is on the way up. Our guys have had a really good summer and I am excited about what they are doing (on the tour).” He said.
“Next year is another opportunity to try and build the team.”
One thing that Smith is uncertain about concerns Andy Murray’s future intentions in the competition. As the world No.2 tries to balance life as a professional tennis player with fatherhood, there has been speculation that he may reduce his Davis Cup commitments.
“Whether or not he’ll play next year is something that I haven’t thought about.” He said about Murray.
“He is a great Davis Cup player and absolutely loves it. But again, he has to be smart with his schedule next year.”
The loss for Britain comes less than a year after they won their first Davis Cup title since 1936. That triumph marked the epic turnaround for the country, who was playing in the Europe/Arica group II play-offs in 2010.
Regardless of the home disappointment, nothing can be taken away from the stellar performance produced by Argentina. The British was just simply outplayed, but it doesn’t take anything away from their blossoming development on the tour.
