A giant billboard adorns the venue here in Malaga where Great Britain will today try to pull off the unenviable task of dethroning Novak Djokovic.
A photo of Djokovic takes pride of place on the poster for this Davis Cup quarter-final — so, too, that of Andy Murray, who was part of the British team before an injury in training forced his late withdrawal.
As British No1, Cameron Norrie has the undertaking of facing Djokovic, a challenge not even the two best players in the world currently behind the Serbian in Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were able to do much about in the final two matches of the recent ATP Finals.
British captain Leon Smith admitted that Murray’s absence actually removed a headache for him.
“The upside to it is everyone knows where they stand,” he said. “There’s no ambiguity around who might play or who is waiting for the tap on the shoulder from me to say, ‘You’re in, you’re not in’.”
Djokovic was gracious enough to talk up Britain’s chances in the build-up.
“I know Andy and [Dan] Evans are not here, and obviously they have been contributing to qualifications for the last eight,” he said. “But still, they are very strong in this format. If we split [the] singles matches, then we’re getting into the doubles, where they have the best players in the world, [Neal] Skupski and Joe [Salisbury].”
But currently, the 24-time grand slam champion is a class apart, coupled with the fact that he has won all three of his encounters with Norrie.
Their last meeting — in Rome in May — was a fractious one, Djokovic taking umbrage with the Briton for an overhead smash which hit him on the ankle as he was walking away from a point. Djokovic later called it unsportsmanlike conduct.
With 5,000 British supporters — some ex-pats and others having flown in — on court, Djokovic can likely play the on-court villain, as he has done so often to good effect.
As for the challenge of Norrie, he said: “I’m going to go and be myself, give it everything and take it to him. I have played him in a few big matches already. It’s a huge challenge and I’m going to run for everything and give it everything.”
Norrie and Jack Draper were among those to tune into Djokovic’s success in Turin, and it was left to the former to explain the threat the world No1 poses.
“He makes the court very small,” he said. “That’s his biggest weapon and you feel like you really need to overplay in certain times. So, I think it’s important to play within yourself. And his serve is underrated. I watched the Tour Finals… first set and a half was a different level.”
The reality is that Norrie will likely come up short, which means the pressure is on the shoulders of Draper in the other singles match, most likely against Laslo Djere, with the teams officially announced an hour before they go on court.
Draper looked suitably relaxed on the eve of the event, insisting he did not mind who he faces, but he knows, with a Djokovic result seemingly going against Britain, he needs a win.
If victorious, Britain take on the winners of today’s preceding match between Italy and Holland on Saturday. But, with the prospect of Djokovic, it is a big if.
