Relegated Brits respond to draw

Great Britain have been handed a home tie against Ukraine following their relegation to the Euro/Africa zone of the Davis Cup. The draw was made in Madrid yesterday and the match will take place in March next year. The Ukraine tie will be Great Britain’s first Davis Cup match after last weekend’s defeat to Austria, which meant they were relegated from the World Group.

Captain John Lloyd is pleased with the draw. “This is definitely a match we are capable of winning,” he told the LTA website. “(Sergiy) Stakhovsky is a good young player who is on the up and can play well on any surface but I think this a good draw for us.

“Now it’s time for us to do a bit of research on what is the best surface for the players, so I’ll spend some time studying the results of their players over the last year and start thinking about where we’re going to play.”

The match had originally been pencilled in for May but has been moved to try to encourage Andy Murray’s participation. The May date would have put the match in the middle of the clay-court season, but playing in March means Murray’s hardcourt game will be in full-swing. Birmingham and Glasgow have been touted as potential venues with this in mind.