LTA deny Rusedski approach after Davis Cup humiliation

Britain's Lawn Tennis Association this morning denied a report they have approached Greg Rusedski about taking over from John Lloyd as Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain following yesterday’s humiliation in Lithuania.

Lloyd became the first GB skipper to oversee five consecutive defeats as Britain crashed to a 3-2 loss at the hands of a country with only three world-ranked singles players, all of them teenagers.

Britain now face a relegation play-off against Turkey in July to avoid dropping into Europe/Africa Zone Group III – the lowest tier of the competition - alongside the likes of San Marino, Andorra and Montenegro.

Former Australian Open finalist Lloyd admitted yesterday he was considering his future in the role, saying: “I’ll ask myself, ’Did I screw up or could someone else do a better job?’

“I don’t do this just to walk around in a tracksuit saying, ’I’m the Davis Cup captain.’ I’ll need to have a think about things.”

A newspaper report this morning suggested former British number one Rusedski, who currently works for the LTA as a talent and performance ambassador, has already been lined up to replace Lloyd.

Player director Steve Martens, though, insisted no decisions have yet been made.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: “We have had no direct contact at all (with Rusedski). I think it would also be very disrespectful to a guy like John to do that when we haven’t even finished the tie.

“Greg is a fantastic coach, he works with us, he’s fully on board working with some of the male players and John so far has been fully in the loop in everything we do.”

Rusedski, a former world number four and US Open finalist, would be an obvious choice if Lloyd does, as expected, leave the post.

The Canadian-born player represented Britain in 20 Davis Cup ties between 1995 and 2007, winning 30 of his 43 matches.

He has also been working with James Ward, Britain’s number one player in Lithuania, and is known to covet the post.

Rusedski did not mince his words in his reaction to the result in Vilnius, saying on his Twitter page: “Cannot believe we have lost to Lithuania in Davis Cup. Unbelievable.”