Davis Cup captain Leon Smith ‘hopeful’ Andy Murray will play Britain’s play-off against Uzbekistan in Glasgow

Given the Davis Cup’s best-of-five-sets format there had been major doubts as to whether Murray would risk playing so soon into his comeback following hip surgery

(AP)

Leon Smith, Britain’s Davis Cup captain, is “fairly hopeful” that Andy Murray will play in next month’s World Group play-off against Uzbekistan in Glasgow. With the former world No 1 also saying that he “would love to play and get the opportunity to play one last time in Glasgow”, there appears to be every chance that he will be part of the home team at the Emirates Arena in a fortnight’s time.

Given the Davis Cup’s best-of-five-sets format there had been major doubts as to whether Murray would risk playing so soon into his comeback following hip surgery, but the Scot came through two lengthy matches here at the US Open without any serious problems, though he was disappointed to lose to Fernando Verdasco in the second round on Wednesday.

Smith said he had had “a pretty open dialogue” with Murray about his involvement in the tie. “Obviously after the match yesterday, he will be spending today with his team just to see where he’s at,” Smith said here on Thursday. “Then I’ll follow up on that later today or tomorrow or in the next couple of days and we’ll see from there. We should know in a couple of days. I’m fairly hopeful he’ll play.”

Meanwhile Murray told the BBC: “I’d have to chat to my team because this is obviously a very important period in my rehab and my long-term strategy. Playing five sets takes a lot out of you, which I’ve obviously learned in the last couple of days, and the Davis Cup has also taken a lot out of me. But there’s a big part of me that would love to play and get the opportunity to play one last time in Glasgow.”

With the Davis Cup’s change from next year to a week-long tournament for 18 nations at a single venue, Murray can see that this might be his last chance to play competitively in his home country. Some of the best moments of his career have come in Davis Cup ties in Glasgow, where he enjoys great support from his fellow countrymen.

Murray was the key figure in Britain’s Davis Cup triumph in 2015, winning all 11 of the rubbers he played that year, but has not played since the 2016 World Group semi-final against Argentina in Glasgow.

Andy Murray in action against Fernando Verdasco (Getty)

One option for Murray next month might be to play only in doubles alongside his brother, Jamie. Kyle Edmund, the world No 16, and Cameron Norrie, the world No 67, are Britain’s two highest-ranked singles players, though there could be a doubt over Edmund’s involvement following his comments here about having been unwell in recent weeks.

Murray is scheduled to make his return to the tour in a month’s time in China, where he will play in Shenzhen and then in Beijing, though he has insisted that in future he will be careful not to play too many tournaments.