It might have been the same outcome had Andy Murray played. Argentina had their hearts set on a crushing Davis Cup victory for all manner of reasons, although the one that counted at the end of a torrid weekend was that they are among many nations that regard tennis with the consuming passion we in Britain simply cannot match.
As such, the drubbing was what had been expected. Very good people did all that they could do in Great Britain’s cause, but the result came down to this country’s longstanding inability to invest the millions it has received over the years from Wimbledon’s success in making tennis a sport worth playing, a sport properly coached, a sport that means something.
So many good intentions, so little to show. Of course, there are some brilliant people in the sport in Britain, devoted, working endless hours, doing all that they can in a cause they know is worth fighting for. And yet many of them are at odds with a British game gripped as never before by petty factional infights, as emphasised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) regime that trumpets its devotion to revolution but spends too much time worried about its image rather than increasing the numbers of juniors in competition, which have risen by a meagre amount since it came to office two years ago.
For that is the essence of their job, when all is said and done. A governing body prepares the way for its sport to flourish, it encourages growth, it builds bridges rather than dismantles them, it secures partnerships instead of undermining them, it covets relationships rather than scuppering them the minute “the other” side disagrees. And it keeps its good people rather than losing them, as this new LTA has a tendency to do.
Consecutive LTAs have experienced that Monday morning after the Davis Cup weekend grab for the paracetamol. Hark back to 1994 and a 4-1 defeat in Portugal that precipitated the departure of Tony Pickard, still the country’s foremost coach, who would like to do more for the sport but feels neglected.
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Later that year Billy Knight (another man with plenty of expertise) left the post after a 5-0 defeat by Slovakia. David Lloyd won seven of his 11 ties as captain, but a 4-1 defeat in the Czech Republic in 2000 was the herald of his leaving, only for Roger Taylor to take over and immediately have to deal with a 3-2 defeat by Ecuador on the sacred grass of Wimbledon. The fall guy that day was Richard Lewis, who was head of men’s professional tennis when embarrassment cut deep.
So the present occupants of the hotseat need not feel as though they are experiencing anything new and this is not a call for John Lloyd to depart. Nothing could further erode the confidence that is at a depressing ebb than to lose the experience of such a straightforward, personable, talented captain. This challenge - made with a genuine sense that the sport can be successful - is for British tennis to lose its conceit and come to its senses before any more letters are received such as the one this week from a former Davis Cup player that spoke of a lack of passion for what happens to the British game that he had never experienced before and that “with everything I read, the more disastrous it seems”.
It is hard to square the go-getting attitude of Stuart Smith, who became LTA president in 2006, with the remarkably defensive body he leads. To boldly go where no LTA has gone before is all very well in theory, but it needs to carry with it all the constituent parts of the game and extol the virtues of dynamic governance, rather than be manifestly divisive.
One knows what they will say - that this is the usual negative Monday morning media attitude. Kick us when we are down, exaggerate the bad rather than sift out the good. And good there is, as there always was. As has often happened in the past 40 years, Britain has a surfeit of outstanding juniors who win titles handsomely in intimidating locations against the best in the world. Suddenly, they vanish into the echo chamber of disillusion, burnt out and blighted.
When that happens, the finger-pointing begins. It is the parents, the coaches, the agents, the X-Box and, most often, it is the LTA. Then up pops someone such as Andy Murray, a supreme talent, a top-ten player, a potential grand-slam champion, and it is all the eggs in one basket again. Except this time, in seeking to ingratiate itself with its No1 player, the LTA indulged him as no one has been indulged before - he wanted the best, it provided it, no questions asked. And then last week he said that he did not want to play for Britain this time and, when asked for a comment, the new go-getting LTA went quiet. It helped to create the monster, but what happens when it roars, or in this case, slumbers?
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It is precisely because of its inability to handle the biggest person who confronts them that one wonders if it can do right by the sport in its entirety.
In his address to the LTA annual meeting in December, Smith waxed lyrical about “sophisticated centralised reporting mechanisms”, “improving internal controls and processes”, “a greater degree of alignment and involvement with our stakeholders” and “identifying the drivers of our sport and ensuring colleagues know how to impact them”. When you are break point down to David Nalbandian in a Davis Cup tie in Buenos Aires and have just shanked your first serve into the net, “sophisticated centralised reporting mechanisms” do not cut it.
The demand - surely not too much to ask after millions have been poured into the project - is for the LTA to lead a sport with everyone confident of being a follower. Andrew Castle, the former British No1, commentating for the BBC at the weekend, said that Britain suffers because tennis is a middle-class sport and thus suggested that we do not have enough people who are up for the fight. Maybe he is right, but tennis is seriously middle-class in Argentina, Spain and France as well, but they love their tennis with a passion. Their clubs are full of juniors scrapping for every point, loving the life, living the dream. Britain’s are not. Until that changes, nothing else will.
Baker earns first Davis Cup win
Jamie Baker’s first victory in a Davis Cup tie - albeit a dead rubber when his team were 4-0 down - was the saving grace of three days in Buenos Aires, where Great Britain without Andy Murray were exposed as a team of willing spirit but limited hope. Baker, above, 21 and ranked No235 in the world, beat Agustin Calleri, the world No41, 7-6, 6-4 to prevent a whitewash and do wonders for his confidence.