Andy Murray must decide whether he is fit enough to join Great Britain’s Davis Cup team
DAVIS CUP skipper Leon Smith told battered Andy Murray: Your country needs you — but your body needs rest more.
Murray flew home yesterday after his shock defeat to Mischa Zverev in the last 16 of the Aussie Open.
And Smith, who names his team today for next week’s tie in Canada, will let the world No 1 decide whether or not he wants to be part of it.
But he said: “The best thing for his body is probably not to play, in my opinion.
“I’d love him to play but maybe for his own good it’s better for him to rest up and train and get ready for this next period — because there won’t be much time the rest of the year. This might be a really good time to do it.”
Smith can alter his line-up until Thursday.
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And he said: “The Davis Cup is a really good way of getting over defeats like these. We’re all friends, it’s a really good week.
“But the other side is that the matches are still very, very draining.
"Playing best-of-five-set tennis is still tough, it’s still a lot of time on court in a pressure situation.”
Meanwhile, tennis legends were last night still picking over the bones of Murray’s exit.
The Scot was clear favourite after Novak Djokovic went out.
And 1987 Wimbledon champ Pat Cash said: “Of the top two losing, Murray shocked me more.
“When you see a serve-and-volley player who’s working his way through the rankings do what he did to the world No 1, it’s amazing.”
Another Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic admitted: “It’s a missed opportunity.”
And Murray’s former coach Jonas Bjorkman added: “He’s human, it’s as simple as that. Anyone can have a bad day.”