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Jack Draper has been rested for Great Britain’s opening Davis Cup match against Finland at the AO Arena.
The 22-year-old arrived in Manchester on Tuesday afternoon following his run to the semi-finals of the US Open but captain Leon Smith has opted to give him extra time to recover, with tougher-looking tests against Argentina and Canada to come this week.
Billy Harris replaces him and will make his debut against Finnish number one Otto Virtanen, while Dan Evans plays Eero Vasa in the opening rubber.
By playing in his 26th tie in the competition, Evans has overtaken Andy Murray to claim joint second place in the British standings alongside Mike Sangster and behind only Bobby Wilson.
Finland were surprise semi-finalists last year but have been dealt a major blow by the absence through injury of their top-ranked player Emil Ruusuvuori.
Britain must finish in the top two in the group to secure their place at the final eight event in Malaga in November.
Last year, Smith’s squad pulled off one of the most dramatic victories in the history of the competition when Evans and Neal Skupski prevailed in a final set tie-break against France to book their spot in Malaga.
Smith is expecting another week of tough competition: “I think it’s a really even group, and something always happens. That’s what Davis Cup is, players take their chances.
“But I really believe we can be successful here. We’re really determined to do that. All the players here are in good confidence, playing well, so why not? We’ve got to get after this.”
PA
