Britain's long journey to cross the Lapenttis

As if the prospects of a Davis Cup tie in South America were not daunting enough, the preparations of the British team have been seriously disrupted by the chaos surrounding air travel in the United States. The captain, Roger Taylor, and most of the squad faced a weekend of being marooned in Florida, where they had gone for a week's preparation on clay in readiness for the World Group qualifying contest against Ecuador in Guayaquil, starting on Friday.

Two of the team, Tim Henman and Martin Lee, are already in Ecuador after switching plans and planes, but Greg Rusedski, Barry Cowan, Lee Childs and Miles Maclagan, together with masseur Luke Smith, physiotherapist Mark Bender and Rusedski's coach, Brad Langevad, were told yesterday the first direct flight to Guayaquil would not be leaving until Tuesday.

While the Lawn Tennis Association's travel agents joined thousands of others in urgent representations to airline companies in the United States, Taylor said from the team's headquarters at the luxury Turnberry Isles resort, north of Miami: "There is no point getting upset because there is nothing we can do about it except wait and hope. But worse things have happened than us getting late to Guayaquil.''

Henman was on his way from London last Tuesday to join the group when his flight was diverted to Bermuda because of the terrorist attacks. With Miami and all US airports closed, Henman opted to return to London. He travelled to Ecuador via Madrid on Friday. Lee, beaten in the second round of an ATP event in Brazil, also flew independently to the west coast of South America, arriving after two changes of plane.

Taylor's meticulous preparations for this difficult contest on clay in what is certain to be a hostile environment have been further affected by the wretched weather in Florida over the past week. "We have been able to practise quite well, though the weather has not been great,'' he said. It was a case of fitting in tennis on the green clay courts of Turnberry between the showers, though the tropical storm Gabrielle, rapidly escalating into hurricane strength off the south-west coast of Florida, imposed further restrictions on practice time.

Britain are in the play-offs for a place in the 2002 World Group as a result of their shock home defeat last year by this same Ecuador team on grass at Wimbledon. Ecuador, then as now, have a side which consists virtually of the Lapentti brothers, Nicolas and Giovanni. Another slice of bad news is that Guayaquil is the Lapenttis' home-town, a fact guaranteed to stoke up passions in the sell-out crowd of 8,000 expected in the national stadium, which also doubles as a bullring.

"There is no question about it being a difficult tie for us,'' said Rusedski. "It could go either way. We are going to have to be very positive and play extremely well. Each point, each match, each day is going to be vital, but the team are committed to getting back into the World Group.''

Rusedski is expecting, indeed eagerly anticipating, playing two singles and also the doubles. "We have to find a way of getting through,'' he said, "even if it means Tim and I playing 15 sets each. We will have to grind it out.''

Britain's hopes, as ever, rest on the top two, a fact which has not escaped Rusedski. "We need the other players in our squad to keep on improving,'' he said. "We need some help out there, especially on clay in South America. I have never been there before. All I've been told by my father-in-law, who has visited Ecuador in connection with a children's charity, is to avoid the 10p meals.

"It is going to come down to blood and guts, who wants it more, and who is going to be physically stronger. That's why I came to Florida early, to get in top shape and to get used to the clay. The first day will be the key. If it is 1-1 after the opening singles that would be good; 2-0 up would be fantastic; 0-2 would be a nightmare. We need to be 1-1 at least.

"Davis Cup never goes to form on paper, as we discovered last year, so this will be a real mental, physical and emotional test. It is a challenge for the team and myself. I haven't played as well as I might have done in some Davis Cup matches, so I'm looking forward to raising my level.''

Taylor identified four crucial factors – the form of Nicolas Lapentti, the heat, the slow clay courts and the crowd. "Lapentti is in the world's top six on clay and has just won a tournament in Kitzbühel. So right there you have a guy capable of winning two matches. If Tim and Greg could beat him in his own backyard it would be tremendous in conditions which will be so hot you can't imagine it.

''But I am optimistic we can win this match. It would be marvellous to pull it off but I am under no illusions about how difficult it is. Last year's result was a bad upset, we should have beaten them on grass. But we will be better prepared this time, even though we are away.''