Leon Smith, 34, has been named Britain’s new Davis Cup captain and the Lawn Tennis Association's head of men's tennis.
“It’s a huge honor and an irresistible challenge for me," Smith said. "I know the players, and I know that together we can get Britain back to winning ways in the Davis Cup."
Smith’s appointment does not come without criticism. Even though Smith coached Andy Murray as a junior and is thought to still be close to him, Murray said in Monte Carlo that he had not put Smith’s name forward to the LTA as a potential candidate for the Davis Cup captaincy.
Another British coach, Mark Petchey, said he was stunned by Smith's appointment, as Smith never played Davis Cup.
“When Roger Draper came into the LTA it was all about a world-class leadership team, world-class people and this is it; four years down the track we are putting someone in charge of the men's game and the Davis Cup who has none of these qualities," Petchey told Sky Sports. “So are we saying the strategy before was wrong and now we're on the right one, or are we actually saying we don't have a clue and are sticking somebody in the job who we think might persuade Andy Murray to play Davis Cup? Andy will make his own decision and I know Andy, he was happy to go with the majority view of what the players wanted in terms of a Davis Cup captain - and the majority of those players wanted Greg Rusedski."—M.C.