Davis Cup: Andy Murray to miss grandfather's funeral in order to play all three days of semi-final with Argentina

Great Britain will be able to count on Andy Murray in today's Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina, with the Wimbledon champion missing his grandfather's funeral in order to play.

Gordon Murray, the father of Andy and Jamie's father Willie, died last week.

Andy Murray was absent from the pre-tie press conference at Glasgow's Emirates Arena, reportedly so he could attend a family gathering, but brother Jamie was present.

Jamie will attend the funeral - he is needed only for Saturday's doubles - while Andy plays out a repeat of his Olympic final with Juan Martin del Potro.

The pair battled against each other for more than four hours in the Olympic gold medal match in Rio last month, with Murray eventually coming out on top.

Del Potro's status as only the third-ranked Argentina player, as he continues to work his way back from a long absence during which he underwent three wrist operations, lent an unusual level of intrigue to the draw.

Normally the big singles matches take place on Sunday but Guido Pella was given the nod to be Argentina's number one ahead of the higher-ranked Federico Delbonis and will play Kyle Edmund on Friday.

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Argentina captain Daniel Orsanic, though, had no qualms in declaring Del Potro his side's most important player.

"Without a doubt," he said. "I think he's going through a very good moment. His comeback I think is good for the world of tennis so you can imagine what it means for us Argentinians."

Del Potro followed up his stunning Olympic run, where he defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, by reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The 27-year-old said: "I will try to play a different match from Rio. It's going to be really tough but I'm looking forward to (producing) the surprise."

GB captain Leon Smith opted to name both Edmund and fellow singles player Dan Evans in his four-man team ahead of Dom Inglot.

That removed the back-up doubles option, meaning Andy will once again be asked to play with Jamie on Saturday and compete on all three days.

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The 29-year-old has admitted to fatigue following a hectic summer that saw him win both Wimbledon and the Olympics but Smith is confident he can produce more heroics for his country.

"We saw last year in the semi-final against Australia, you could see Andy was fatigued and he still found a way to do it," said the 40-year-old.

"He's a very robust guy, both physically and mentally, so don't be surprised to see him do it."

An 8,000-strong crowd will hope to roar Britain to victory, as they did in last year's ties here against the USA and Australia.

Britain are hoping to follow up their remarkable Davis Cup triumph last November, a first for the country in 79 years, by setting up a final against either France or Croatia.

Argentina have reached the last four in 11 of the last 15 years but have never won the title, losing in the final in 2006, 2008 and 2011 as well as 1981.

PA