By Tony Fairbairn
- Cameron Norrie leads the British team into the Davis Cup qualifiers away to Colombia on clay
- Colombia without number one singles player Daniel Elahi Galan but boast Grand Slam winning pair Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah
COTA, COLOMBIA – Cameron Norrie will hope to lead Great Britain into this year’s Davis Cup Finals when they face Colombia on clay.
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After failing to reach the final eight last year, Great Britain will be hoping to learn from their mistakes in 2023 as they bid to reach the Davis Cup Finals. Unlike previous years Leon Smith’s side do not have the luxury of a wildcard spot and therefore will need to earn their place into September’s showpiece event.
Standing in Great Britain’s way is a testing trip to Colombia with the hosts looking to take advantage of their preferred clay court surface as they look to earn a shock win. That being said, it’s time to take a look at how the two teams shape up heading into a nail-biting weekend in South America.
Cameron Norrie leads Great Britain
Unsurprisingly Cameron Norrie leads the British team into battle this weekend with clay being the British number one’s preferred surface. Norrie faced an early exit at the Australian Open losing to Jiri Lehecka and the Brit will look to gain some confidence this weekend in Colombia.
Joining Norrie as singles players will be Dan Evans and Jack Draper with Evans looking to prove a point after a fairly disappointing start to the season. As for Draper, the British youngster has gone from strength to strength as he will look to use this week to work on his stamina and fitness after an encouraging performance in Melbourne against Rafael Nadal.
Completing the British team from the doubles side are Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury. The world number one and four respectively had fairly disappointing Australian Open campaigns with Wesley Koolhof and Rajeev Ram as they look to put that behind them this weekend. It’s fair to say that clay is neither player’s biggest strength and that is something they will need to adapt to quickly with Colombia having such a formidable doubles team on clay.
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No Elahi Galan for Colombia
Despite this tie being an awkward one for the British team given the surface and atmosphere in Colombia, the Brits will fancy their chances as Colombia are missing their number one player Daniel Elahi Galan. The world number 81 has struggled with injury problems to start the season and Elahi Galan will be gutted to miss one of the biggest ties in Colombia’s history.
Instead the trio of Nicolas Mejia, Nicolas Barrientos and Cristian Rodriguez will feature for the Colombians. All three players are very familiar on a clay court but all three also have higher doubles rankings than singles rankings which will come as a boost to the British team.
This is as for a change Britain will be underdogs in doubles with Grand Slam champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah completing the line-up for the hosts. Cabal and Farah are one of the best teams in the world on clay and will fear no player on this surface as they look to take inspiration from a passionate home crowd and lead their nation to victory.
The Draw
The tie will be split over two days with day one taking place at 20:00 GMT time on Friday with play concluding on Saturday at 17:00 GMT time. The first day will see the two singles rubbers which is then followed by the doubles and the two reverse singles matches on day two. The team to win three of the five rubbers will be victorious and will earn a place in September’s Davis Cup Finals.
The draw has seen some surprise decisions from the British team with Evans being selected to play singles and doubles, with no Draper or Salisbury. Although this is subject to change, this is an eye-catching decision by Leon Smith as Britain looks to establish dominance from day one.
Friday 3rd February (20:00 GMT)
Dan Evans v Nicolas Mejia
Cameron Norrie v Nicolas Barrientos
Saturday 4th February (17:00 GMT)
Dan Evans/Neal Skupski v Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah
Cameron Norrie v Nicolas Mejia
Dan Evans v Nicolas Barrientos
How to Watch/Follow Davis Cup Qualifier 2023
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