ANDY Murray's Davis Cup withdrawal could open the door for fellow-Scot Colin Fleming to make his debut in the Great Britain team on home soil at Braehead this weekend.
Murray's withdrawal has left captain John Lloyd with a selection poser ahead of the meeting with Ukraine. The world No4 pulled out of the Europe/Africa Zone second-round clash after failing to shake off a virus that prematurely ended his run at last
week's Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.
However, his absence will not come as a major shock to Lloyd who, fearing such an eventuality, named two reserves in the group to contest the tie in Glasgow starting on Friday. Either James Ward or Fleming, 24, will replace Murray in the line-up, which also features doubles specialist Ross Hutchins and Davis Cup debutants Josh Goodall and Chris Eaton.
With a sell-out attendance of 4,000 expected at Braehead, Lloyd may turn to Scottish No3 Fleming in a bid to generate some extra atmosphere among the crowd.
Broxburn-born Fleming, who trains at Stirling University, already has some Davis Cup experience, having provided back-up for the team as a hitting partner for the players when they faced Serbia and Montenegro at Braehead in 2006.
Fleming, now based in Linlithgow, was formerly Jamie Murray's doubles partner and together they won nine titles and reached 19 titles.
However, just a month after partnering the elder Murray brother at Wimbledon, where they lost in the third round to Zack Fleishman and the Australian Robert Smeets, the former British Universities champion "retired" in 2006 to finish his economics and finance degree at Stirling. He then worked with Scottish Power for ten months as part of their graduate recruitment scheme.
Fleming had a rethink last year, and decided to have a second crack on the tennis circuit and he has been steadily working his way up the rankings by playing in Futures and Challenger events. His form saw him included in the six-man Davis Cup play-offs at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
Goodall, the world No196, and Eaton, ranked 390, got the nod after impressing during the play-offs, but Fleming also caught the eye.
Dan Evans and Alex Slabinsky missed the cut altogether after failing to shine in the play-offs – which were convened after British No2 Alex Bogdanovic was dropped owing to his dismal Davis Cup record – but the door is now ajar for either Ward or Fleming to complete the Great Britain line-up this weekend.
While Fleming, the British No11, is considered the favourite to replace Murray in the line-up, Lloyd stressed that he would be consulting with Lawn Tennis Association head coach Paul Annacone before deciding who will get the nod.
"The play-offs demonstrated that these guys can handle long matches mentally and physically, so Paul Annacone and I will discuss who will replace Andy in the team and make a decision in the next couple of days," said Lloyd.
"I now need to focus on preparing the team for the tie against Ukraine – we have five players up here who are desperate to play and they have all impressed me in the last week.
"With the support of a vocal home crowd I firmly believe that this is a very winnable match for us."
He added: "It's obviously disappointing that Andy is unable to play in this Davis Cup tie but our medical team has been monitoring Andy closely and don't feel that he is in a position to compete.
"We all hope he makes a swift recovery and is back playing again soon."
A spokesman for Murray earlier confirmed the Scot's withdrawal in a statement on the LTA website, www.lta.org.uk.
"After daily visits from the LTA doctor and a number of medical tests, Andy has been told to rest for at least seven days to overcome his virus," the statement read. "Andy is greatly disappointed that he has to pull out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie as he was looking forward to playing for Great Britain in front of his home crowd."
Murray revealed on his personal website the virus had hit him very hard but backed his Great Britain team-mates to take the tie against Ukraine in his absence.
"Obviously, I'm very disappointed that I won't be playing in Glasgow this week, but the doctor has told me that I need complete rest for at least seven days, and I have to respect that," said Murray, who has won ATP titles in Doha and Rotterdam this season.
"Missing out on a home tie is tough for me, but more than anything I'm sorry for all the people making the journey who had hoped to see me play in the team."
The full article contains 806 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
