Great Britain are 11/2 with Skybet to retain the Davis Cup after reaching the quarter-finals with a hard-fought victory over Japan in Birmingham.
Andy Murray was again Team GB’s hero, winning both singles matches and helping brother Jamie to success in the doubles – but how long can the Scot keep carrying his team-mates?
Last year’s David Cup exploits took their toll on Murray’s form in the Slams last year and the last thing he will have needed over the weekend was a marathon five-setter against Kei Nishikori. Murray has just returned to action after spending time with his new family and Nishikori, ranked six in the world, pushed the world number two all the way in Birmingham.
The match was the joint longest Murray has ever played, along with his US Open final victory over Novak Djokovic in 2012, and Djokovic could be next on the agenda for Great Britain as they’ll now play his country, Serbia, in the last eight. Djokovic, like Murray, won all three of his matches at the weekend but his team eventually had to dig deep to see off Kazakhstan. They will, however, have home advantage in the quarter-finals in July and are the new 13/8 favourites.
Davis Cup 2016 Skybet Odds
Serbia (13/8), France (3/1), Great Britain (11/2), USA (7/1), Czech Republic (10/1), Croatia (12/1), Italy (14/1), Argentina (20/1)
In some of the weekend’s other ties, there was controversy in Melbourne as Australia lost to the USA. Aussie Bernard Tomic launched a thinly-veiled attack on fellow countryman Nick Kyrgios after the latter pulled out of the tie, stating illness. Tomic clearly believes that there was nothing wrong with Kyrgios other than a desire not to play for his country – he claimed injury under similar circumstances last year only to play in an ATP event just a few days later. The USA will play Croatia in the quarter-finals.
Serbia v Great Britain
Italy v Argentina
Czech Republic v France
USA v Croatia
