Great Britain relegated to Europe/Africa Zone Group I

Great Britain lost its Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Play-off tie, 2-3 against Austria on Sunday, and has been relegated to Europe/Africa Zone Group I for 2009. Sunday’s deciding rubbers saw British No.1 Andy Murray defeat Austrian No.1 Jurgen Melzer 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-1, levelling the tie at 2-2. But, despite making a strong start, British No.2 Alex Bogdanovic was unable to overhaul Austrian No.2 Alexander Peya, falling 6-2 4-6 4-6 2-6. British Davis Cup captain, John Lloyd was understandably disappointed with the loss. “We worked hard to get into the World Group and now we’re out of it,” he said. “Going into this tie I thought we were the marginal favourites but they played a great tie and deserved to win. It is very disappointing. “Getting into the World Group is tough enough, staying there is no easier. I believe Andy can win two singles any time, any place, anywhere, but we need one more rubber to win a tie and we didn’t do that this weekend.” The result sees Austria advance to the elite 16-team World Group in 2009. Meanwhile, the GB Highland Spring Davis Cup team will have to wait until Tuesday, September 23, when the draw for the 2009 competition is made in Madrid, to discover their fate. Teams with them in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I are Belgium, Slovak Rep, Italy, Belarus, Macedonia, Poland, South Africa and the Ukraine. If Britain is seeded, which will be decided according to the ITF’s Davis Cup rankings released on Monday, they will receive a bye into the second round of Europe/Africa Zone Group I and will play from May 8-10, 2009. If the team is unseeded, their first round tie will take place from March 6-8 with the opponent and location being decided at Tuesday’s draw.