GB given nightmare Davis Cup draw as Novak Djokovic to face Andy Murray and co

Andy Murray says he has ‘a retirement date in mind’ ahead of Wimbledon

Great Britain have been drawn against Serbia in the Final 8 of the Davis Cup. Andy Murray and co’s bid for tournament glory will therefore involve an encounter with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who is in imperious form after his triumph at the US Open.

Murray watched on earlier this week as GB booked their ticket to the Final 8 courtesy of a hard-fought win over France. The 36-year-old missed his grandmother’s funeral to stay with his team-mates and broke down in tears after beating Leandro Reidi last Friday.

It was left to Dan Evans and Neal Skupski against the French, but they held out to win their tense doubles decider with a sensational comeback, ensuring safe passage to Malaga.

GB could have faced Italy or Serbia in the quarter-finals, and they found out on Tuesday that Djokovic and his compatriots await in what promises to be a fiercely-contested showdown.

Great Britain’s squad, which also includes Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper, will face a Serbian group comprising Laslo Djere and Dusan Lajovic, among others. 

Djokovic had only five days to rest and recover from his battle to victory at Flushing Meadows, before dispatching Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets to help Serbia through to the Davis Cup finals, which get underway on November 21.

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Elsewhere in the draw, defending world champions Canada will take on Finland, who pulled off a Davis Cup shock last week by beating the USA and Croatia to set up their quarter-final debut.

Joining GB in the bottom-half of the draw is a clash between Italy and the Netherlands, with the full schedule set to be published in the coming weeks. After Great Britain fought through to the Final 8 in front of a packed-out AO Arena in Manchester, the victorious Evans could hardly contain his excitement.

“It was nuts,” he said. “Singles is singles and I feel comfortable on the court but the doubles? It was chaos. I just kept saying to Neal: ‘We’ve got a chance, we’ve got a chance.’ Neal kept going, we both kept going.”

Murray was in amongst the jubilant scenes while wearing a pink bucket hat, jumping for joy alongside Evans before hilarious footage of the Scot celebrating on the drive home with Draper went viral on social media.

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