Lloyd loses patience with Brits on the fringe

John Lloyd's job as Davis Cup Captain must be the most thankless task in the world. I doubt the Ukrainian public demand quite the same high standards we do, despite (with the exception of Murray) their pool of talent being very much the same.

Greg Rusedski's plans for a sensational and ill-advised return were this week rebuffed by an ever polite Mr Lloyd, who is now favouring a new and radical system to select his other two Davis Cup hopefuls. Lloyd plans to hold a six man tournament (supposedly involving Bogdanovic, Goodall, Ward, and as promised, Evans and Fleming, with the others being unsure of even making the tournament) to select his remaining two is perhaps a sign of his last straw with the sarcastically named Alex 'A Bog' Bogdanovic.

It's a fine ploy by Lloyd who has placed himself in a win-win situation. If Boggo comes out on top (presuming he is picked which is not a certainty) then Lloyd can be hailed for challenging the world 181 to produce his best tennis, and if he fails, his move to abolish the ranking entry system will have been wholly vindicated. Unfortunately that might be where the winning ends. Relying on a slowly improving Josh Goodall, a one-hit-wonder Chris Eaton or a faltering Alex Slabinsky will hardly give Lloyd the confidence he needs.

Perhaps 'Party Boy' Dan Evans (pictured above) will make the breakthrough after serving a record LTA ban for repeated misconduct, but at the tender age of 18, the young man from Birmingham is unlikely to show his best yet. Just ask Xavier Malisse what he thinks!

Whatever happens, I will be watching over this tournament with my eagle eye, and I admire John Lloyd for laying down the gauntlet for his perennially underachieving players. Let's see what happens.