- Edmund has been struggling with hip injury since Australian Open
- Liam Broady and Cameron Norrie handed Davis Cup debuts
Australian Open semi-finalist Kyle Edmund has been left out of the first day’s play of Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Spain.
Edmund struggled with a minor hip problem during his semi-final defeat to Marin Cilic, a result that halted his impressive run in Melbourne. The world No 26 had expressed hope that he would still be able to lead Britain’s team in Marbella, but was not named as one of the singles players in Thursday’s draw.
He said on Wednesday that he was working on his fitness. “My body has a few niggles and the transition from any surface to clay is not an easy one,” he added. “Things are improving and I’m taking a day at a time at the moment.”
The GB captain Leon Smith instead opted to hand Davis Cup debuts to Liam Broady and Cameron Norrie, with the world No 165 Broady taking on the world No 21 Albert Ramos-Viñolas in the opening rubber on Friday. Norrie, who is ranked 114th, faces world No 23 Roberto Bautista Agut at Club de Tenis Puente Romano.
Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot are set to face to Pablo Carreño Busta and Feliciano López in Saturday’s doubles.
The two nations have not met in the Davis Cup since 1986, when Britain won 4-1 at the same stage of the competition in Telford. But without Edmund and the injured Andy Murray on the home side’s favoured surface of clay, the 2015 champions face a tough task to reach the World Group quarter-finals and a clash with either Australia or Germany.
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