 Ward will hope to emerge victorious from his second Davis Cup tie |
Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith has put his faith in James Ward and Jamie Baker for July's must-win tie against Turkey at Eastbourne. It will be Smith's first match in charge and defeat would mean relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group III, the lowest tier of the competition. Ward made his debut in the defeat by Lithuania in March, winning one rubber, while Baker won his last tie in 2008. Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski have been given the doubles spots. British number one Andy Murray has made himself unavailable - he also missed the defeat by Lithuania in March - as he has made it clear he wants to concentrate on winning a first Grand Slam title.  | 606: DEBATE |
Alex Ward, the British number 11, has been named as the reserve, while Dan Evans, who has lost the crucial rubbers in the last two ties against Lithuania and Poland, has fallen out of favour. Smith said: "I am confident that this is a group of players which can win this tie. They've all shown good form during the grass court season and now the focus is on getting the result against Turkey." Britain will be expected to win but, in world number 118 Marsel Ilhan, Turkey boast by far the highest-ranked player in the tie who has shown decent form on grass this season. The relegation play-off will be played between 9-11 July at Devonshire Park.
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