Davis Cup controversy with fans left ‘very frustrated’ after Great Britain draw

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Great Britain may have learned their fate in the knockout stages of the Davis Cup, but their fans still don’t know when their quarter-final against Serbia will be played. The GB team progressed to the last eight of the international team competition after finishing top of Group B, ahead of Australia – who have also qualified – France and Switzerland.

And now the likes of Andy Murray, Jack Draper and Dan Evans will be pitted against world No 1 Novak Djokovic in Malaga with a semi-final place at stake. But while GB’s opponents have now been confirmed, the actual date of the head-to-head has not.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said: “The schedule will be published in the coming weeks.” The Davis Cup Final 8 takes place in Malaga from November 21-26, but the exact date for each quarter-final tie has not been published.

Tennis pundits and fans have reacted with frustration after the specific schedule was delayed. The Times’ tennis correspondent Stuart Fraser wrote on X: “Sorry but this is completely unsatisfactory. You have eight nations here travelling to a neutral location, with fans eager to book travel plans ASAP. As it stands, GB will play on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.”

Uncertainty around the exact date of Great Britain’s quarter-final date has already created issues for UK tennis fans who are trying to plan an itinerary for a potential trip.

X user Craig Johnson replied: “It’s very frustrating. We’re planning to build a holiday around it but we’re currently planning a visit around a guess that GB will play QF4. We either take a chance and risk missing it or wait for ridiculous prices.”

@NomNomMaki added: “Weeks? Lol sure, I’ll just book a plane ticket when they are the most expensive… Idiots. Was seriously considering going, but not anymore.”

The other three quarter-finals have seen defending champions Canada paired with Finland, the Czech Republic pitted against Australia and Italy drawn against the Netherlands.

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GB’s tie with Serbia was the last to be drawn out and is therefore presumed to be the last to be played but until the competition organisers confirm actual dates, fans and players will continue to be left in limbo.

Great Britain are looking to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 2015, when double Wimbledon champion Murray was key in bringing the silverware home. The Scot will likely have a less significant role to play this time around, with younger players like Evans and Drap leading the charge, as well as Cam Norrie.

Speaking about the draw, team captain Leon Smith said: “We’ve definitely got a chance. We’ve got a really good team.

“We’ve got a chance against anybody. It’s really tight, matches can go either way. Every single tie we’ve had here could have gone either way.”

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