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Andy Murray believes Great Britain can win the Davis Cup again this season and is happy to play his part on or off the court.<\/p>\n
The former world number one is among a five-man team for this week\u2019s group stage in Manchester, along with Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper and Neal Skupski.<\/p>\n
Quite what Murray\u2019s role will be remains to be seen and, speaking after his disappointing second-round loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the US Open, the Scot questioned whether he deserved his place.<\/p>\n
But the 36-year-old cut a much more positive figure at a press conference at the AO Arena on Monday, saying: \u201cAt that moment, straight as I came off the court, I wasn\u2019t in a great place after losing in a slam.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI said (to captain Leon Smith), if I\u2019m not needed, I completely get that. But, for whatever reason, he asked me to come and I said I would come.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always loved playing Davis Cup and any event where you\u2019re competing for your country. We have a great group of guys, I love being part of this team, we\u2019ve got great staff as well. Everyone gets on extremely well. I do genuinely believe the team can win the event. That\u2019s huge motivation to be a part of it. I want to help the team in any way I can, whether that\u2019s on the court or off. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Britain have been drawn in an intriguing group with Australia, France and Switzerland and must finish in the top two to book their spot at the finals week in Malaga in November.<\/p>\n
It is now eight years since Murray led Britain to the Davis Cup title virtually single-handed.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt Britain have a stronger overall team now, but with that come selection difficulties for Smith and he faced criticism for choosing Murray and Joe Salisbury as his doubles pair as they crashed out at the same stage in Glasgow 12 months ago.<\/p>\n
Salisbury won his third consecutive US Open title with American Rajeev Ram on Saturday but did not make the team, with Smith likely to rely on Skupski and Evans in doubles, while the most intriguing question mark is whether he will throw in 21-year-old Draper fresh from his run to the fourth round in New York.<\/p>\n
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He has had a hugely frustrating season with injuries but is a major talent who will surely lead the team in the not-too-distant future, while Norrie and Evans have both had patchy seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve got our best five here,\u201d said Smith. \u201cObviously we\u2019ve got strength in depth, especially on the doubles side. In terms of selection for the matches, it\u2019s good. You want a strong squad, different options, because it is a long week. I\u2019m just delighted they\u2019re all here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Draper was named in the team for the first time for February\u2019s tricky assignment away in Colombia, where victory secured their progress to this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel great,\u201d said the Londoner, who was hitting with fit-again former British number one Kyle Edmund on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously New York gave me a real boost after quite a tough season. When Leon asked me to join the guys I was really excited and wanted to be here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been part of a Davis Cup group playing at home. It\u2019s amazing to be part of this team and I\u2019m very grateful for the selection and happy to be around these boys for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s biggest challenge is likely to come on Wednesday when they take on last year\u2019s runners-up Australia, led by in-form world number 12 Alex de Minaur.<\/p>\n
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Crowds of around 8,000 are expected for that tie and the one on Friday against Stan Wawrinka\u2019s Switzerland, while a sell-out of more than 13,000 on Sunday for the final match against France will be the biggest for a Davis Cup contest in Britain.<\/p>\n
There are other groups taking place in Bologna, Split and Valencia, where Serbia and Spain will do battle, although a Wimbledon final rematch between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will no longer happen following the Spaniard\u2019s withdrawal.<\/p>\n