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Leon Smith knows that he has a tough decision to make when Britain takes on Serbia at the Davis Cup later this month. The two nations will meet in a knockout quarter-final in Malaga and, with Novak Djokovic representing his nation, Smith must pick a man to face the world No 1 in the second singles rubber of their tie. With Dan Evans injured, Cameron Norrie missing the Paris Masters and Andy Murray suffering a first-round exit this week, the GB captain knows that he must be \u201cfair\u201d to his squad and decide who has the best shot at pushing Djokovic.<\/p>\n
Following Evans\u2019 withdrawal from the Davis Cup, Norrie remains the No 1 player for Britain while Murray looks poised to step into the role of his nation\u2019s No 2 man. But it won\u2019t be as simple as choosing the top-ranked player to take on Djokovic when Britain and Serbia do battle on Thursday, November 23.<\/p>\n
The two nations will be fighting for a spot in the semi-final of the World Cup of men\u2019s tennis, playing two singles matches and – if needed – a decisive doubles rubber. With Jack Draper also in Britain\u2019s squad, Smith knows that he will need to find the perfect combination to give his nation a chance of defeating Serbia – especially when it comes to the clash against Djokovic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be being fair to our players,\u201d the 47-year-old said, speaking in Paris about how he would determine the player for the No 1 singles match against the 24-time Major winner. \u201cThere\u2019s not going to be an easy answer to this for me who ultimately has to make the call on it. Everyone wants to play.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news<\/strong><\/p>\n Just in <\/strong> Katie Boulter makes joke demand after Andy Murray beaten by Alex de Minaur[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe singles players there are wanting to play, the doubles players are wanting to play. And it\u2019s tough because you\u2019re going into a knockout where you could fly out there for one match and you\u2019re home.\u201d<\/p>\n While captains often pick their highest-ranked player – in this case Norrie – to face the opposing team\u2019s top man, Smith was thinking about other elements of the match-up. He continued: \u201cI\u2019ve got to be fair to everybody and really think about who can, for that No 1 spot, push Novak the hardest based on current form, how they\u2019re feeling, physical state, previous matchups. Whatever it is, everything goes into the mixer and then make a fair call on it.\u201d<\/p>\n But it won\u2019t be easy for the man who led Britain to Davis Cup glory back in 2015, as two of his players aren\u2019t able to get on the court to prove themselves. Norrie pulled out of this week\u2019s Paris Masters with a knee injury while Murray suffered a three-set defeat in the first round and is yet to make a decision on whether he will play in next week\u2019s Moselle Open in Metz.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5042212.jpg?r=1698768238247\")
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