Davis Cup Finals: Great Britain name Norrie, Evans, Salisbury & Skupski in team

3 years ago 29

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New British number one Cameron Norrie will lead the nation's bid to win the upcoming Davis Cup Finals after being named in an initial four-man squad.

Dan Evans is the second singles player, with doubles specialists Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski also included.

Andy Murray says he plans to skip the event to rest and "take a break", so a fifth player will be confirmed later.

The Davis Cup Finals, which features 18 nations, begins on 25 November and culminates in the final on 5 December.

Great Britain play their group matches in Innsbruck against France on 27 November and the Czech Republic on 28 November.

Norrie, 26, became the British men's number one - and climbed into the world's top 15 - after winning the prestigious Indian Wells title earlier this month.

On his first four picks, Britain's Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said: "Every player has had a career-best season and will bring some strong qualities to the team.

"A fifth player will be confirmed in the next few weeks and we are very much looking forward to playing in the finals again this year, having missed it in 2020."

Speaking at Indian Wells earlier this month, former world number one Murray, 34, added he was not sure he "deserves to play in that team".

If they win the group, Britain will stay in the Austrian city for a quarter-final tie on 30 November.

They could also qualify as a best runner-up and that tie would be played in Madrid, where the semi-finals and final will be held between 3-5 December.

The format of the event has changed from the inaugural event in 2019, which saw Madrid host the entire event across seven days.

Britain lost in the semi-finals to eventual champions Spain, although reaching the last four guaranteed Smith's team a place in the next edition.

Last year's tournament was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic and the same 18 nations will play this year.

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