Lloyd awards final Davis Cup spots to Eaton and Goodall
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Your support makes all the difference.If Andy Murray fails to recover in time Britain will go into next week's Davis Cup tie against Ukraine with one of the most inexperienced teams in the country's history. John Lloyd, the British captain, yesterday named Josh Goodall and Chris Eaton as the third and fourth members of his squad, having already selected Murray and Ross Hutchins. James Ward or Colin Fleming, who are joining the squad in Glasgow as reserves and hitting partners, will replace Murray if the world No 4 is still laid low by the virus that forced him to pull out of this week's Dubai Championships.
Without Murray the squad would contain just one player with Davis Cup experience, Hutchins having played in two doubles rubbers, both of which he lost in straight sets. Lloyd called off yesterday's final matches in the six-man play-off series at Roehampton.
"Josh and Chris had already proved themselves," he said. "Both players produced their best tennis in fifth sets, which will give them confidence in their own ability next week." While Goodall, the world No 196, justified his status as the British No 3, Eaton has six compatriots above him in the rankings. However, his performances at Roehampton and in qualifying last year for Wimbledon have shown he can perform under pressure. "When you get the chance, you have to take it," Eaton said. "I played really well this week and did what I had to do. We both showed we can handle the pressure."
Today's final here will see Serbia's Novak Djokovic take on Spain's David Ferrer. Djokovic took two and three-quarter hours to beat Gilles Simon 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, while Ferrer brushed aside Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2.
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