Davis Cup Betting / Ralph Ellis / 18 February 2009 / Leave a comment

After Jamie Murray was omitted from the squad in favour of a close friend of brother Andy, Ralph Ellis wonders if sibling rivalry is beginning to dictate Britain's Davis Cup selection policy.

Picking Britain's Davis Cup team used to be the simplest job in sport. Tim Henman, then Greg Rusedski to play the singles. And then a doubles team of - now let's see - Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. Oh and then one more player to carry the drinks and towels.

Not any more. Now you name Andy Murray and then hold a lottery for anybody to join him. Or at least that's what John Lloyd seems to be adopting as the approach before next month's tie against Ukraine in Glasgow.

Lloyd has caused a bit of a stir in the tennis world by naming Ross Hutchins as the second member of the team alongside the world number four - especially as he's left out Andy's brother Jamie to do it. And word according to some of this morning's papers is that he's made the choice on the advice of Andy himself.

It's an ironic twist to a saga of brotherly fall-outs which both Murrays admit goes back to their childhood, and was played out in public last year when Jamie publicly castigated Andy for pulling out of a trip to Argentina with a minor injury to make sure he was fit to win his own singles tournament the next week. This time it's Andy who appears to be calling the tune, pushing the claims of his close friend Hutchins. The 23-year-old even accompanied him to Florida for his Christmas time training camp.

On the face of it there are sound tennis reasons. Specialist doubles man Hutchins won his first major tour title together with Stephen Huss in Beijing in September, and has risen to 42 in the world doubles rankings. They also made the semi-finals in San Jose last week. Meanwhile, Jamie has been struggling for form.

Lloyd's selection policy seems totally fuddled. He'll pick the other singles player by holding a series of play-off matches next week featuring the likes of Chris Eaton, Colin Fleming, Josh Goodall, Alex Slabinsky, James Ward and Daniel Evans. Andy Murray's presence ought to ensure a team strong enough to beat Uruguay when the market is formed before the fixture on March 6.

But if Andy is really starting to operate as effective number two to Lloyd by naming his chosen team members it sets a worrying precedent, and also asks questions about Murray's own attitude. He should be giving 100 per cent concentration to his own game. Murray is [1.14] to break into the top three of the African Airways ATP official rankings at any time during 2009, but if he's dabbling in being a Davis Cup selector rather than getting his own practice as a priority it's much more appealing to lay that at [1.28]. It's another reason why he is odds against at [2.8] to win a Grand Slam during the year, despite last week's win over an injured Rafael Nadal.

Five things you might not know about Ross Hutchins

1. He was born in the right place to be a tennis star - Wimbledon - where he went to the posh King's College School and collected 2 A*s, 3As, 2Bs, 1C, and 1AS in French in his exams

2. His dad is Paul Hutchins, a former Davis Cup captain and current LTA head of men's tennis

3. As a teenager he was given a coaching masterclass by John McEnroe

4. His pre-match ritual always involves a breakfast of eggs with croissants

5. He has a rare kidney condition called Rabdomylosis which makes him sweat too much in the heat, and he has collapsed several times as a result - including once in Sri Lanka when he came round to find his wallet and phone had been pinched.