Double trouble sinks Britain

Unfamiliar pairing of Rusedski and Murray battle in vain as a third Swiss win ends promotion hopes

The scale and margin of the defeat only served to highlight the failure of the pre-match team shuffle by Britain's captain, Jeremy Bates. This bid to confound the Swiss was punished, as might be expected, by the presence in the home squad of Federer, the best player on the planet. Yesterday he hauled Allegro, a doubles specialist but no great shakes, to victory by the ability to produce his finest shots on the biggest points.

It was always an exciting and tense match, if not consistently top-quality tennis. In the end a combination of Federer's genius and the fact that Murray and Rusedski were teaming up for the first time was what tilted the balance. However, it was a glittering show by Murray, unveiling the delicacy of touch and angle to a raucous, but respectful, crowd of 6,500 in one corner of the vast Palexpo exhibition hall, who were not slow to applaud the Scottish teenager's skills.

Any disappointment that Murray feels about the outcome will have been offset by the news that he has been awarded a wild card into the Bangkok tournament, starting tomorrow. That, coincidentally, is the event Tim Henman has just pulled out of, citing a recurrence of back problems. Another apt example of the changing of the guard in the British game.

The British pair had teamed up in practice for what Bates estimated as "eight to 10 hours together" and the captain said: "I can't fault the effort or the performance." But having fallen 2-0 behind in Friday's singles the recovery road was steep, rough and, in the end, insurmountable.

The British lack of teamwork was ruthlessly exploited by the Swiss. Time and again, winners were rocketed down the centre of the court, bisecting opponents who often left the ball to each other. That said, Rusedski and Murray could not have fought harder and a swifter seizing on the break points they conjured might have extended the contest, though not the result.

Two break points which would have put Britain 4-3 ahead were missed on the attackable Allegro serve and after a brace of Swiss set points had been fought off on the Rusedski serve in the 10th game, the opening set seemed destined for a tie-break. Then Murray was broken, Rusedski making a hash of a smash and the British were a set down after 45 minutes. Cue a rowdy chorus of Coming Round the Mountain from the red-shirted Swiss supporters.

The British counter-attack was impressively mounted in the second set. After four break points had been fought off on the Rusedski serve, Allegro was broken and the advantage was consolidated, if shakily at times on Rusedski's delivery, when break points were faced in four consecutive Rusedski service games. It was here that the fight Bates had called for was on view, particularly from the tigerish Murray. His returns were good enough to bamboozle even Federer, and when Allegro dropped serve for a second time on Rusedski's vicious forehand pass, Murray served out solidly to level the match.

The loss of Rusedski's serve got Britain off to a shaky start in the third set, when the British were again bisected by an Allegro backhand volley and the tension boiled over soon after when Rusedski complained that an Allegro serve had touched the net. When no net cord was called, Rusedski gestured angrily at Allegro, implying he should have owned up. For the first time in an otherwise good- natured tie, there was loud booing and an edge crept into the Swiss play, with shots being aimed at British bodies.

Undeterred, they caused a sensation by breaking Federer when the mighty man served for the third set. It was an occasion for the joyful exchange of high fives by the Brits, who then looked the more assured pairing as they extended the set to a tie-break. At this point it all went pear-shaped. Two mini-breaks of the Rusedski serve left Britain in a hopeless position and the Swiss cantered home, conceding just one point before clilnching the tie-break.

Now Britain were attempting the tennis equivalent of climbing the North Face of the Eiger. The letdown of that tiebreak was instantly shown in the surrender of Murray's serve, when in quick succession he perpetrated his only two double-faults of the match. Britain slumped 4-1 behind when Murray was broken again and that was that. Swiss had, indeed, Come Round the Mountain which Britain failed to climb.