The pall that descended on the Great Britain camp when Andy Murray announced that he was side-stepping this weekend’s Davis Cup tie in Argentina as a precaution against endangering his tour priorities did not extend as far as Jamie Baker.
That is remarkable, given that the 21-year-old from Glasgow has more to lose than most from this World Group first-round tie. It has come at a time when he would like to be protecting his ranking of No 235, as he enjoyed a degree of success on the ATP Challenger tour at this time in 2007.
On the face of it, there is little he can gain from three weeks of intense preparation on red clay – a surface he accepts does not suit him – because there is every likelihood that his appearance against David Nalbandian, the Argentina No 1 and world No 9, at the Est?dio Parque Roca in Buenos Aires tomorrow will be brief and to the point. But that way of thinking would be to underestimate the nature of the player who has become the heartbeat of the Britain party.
There is general agreement in British tennis that if every player who picked up a racket in the country had Baker’s desire to make the best of himself, the country would not be in such a dire predicament. And the fact that he wants to play his first World Group tie illustrates perfectly an attitude and commitment that do not require the employment of a battalion of talent scouts to recognise.
Baker accepts that when he heard of Murray’s decision – made on Wednesday last week – to pull out of the tie, his stride was momentarily broken. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but if I’d put a bet on Andy showing up, I’d have lost a lot of money,” he said. “I thought, 100 per cent, he’d be here with us. I don’t care what team you’re in, when a top-ten player is missing, you’re going to miss him an awful lot. But there’s nothing I can do about what Andy’s doing.
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“I look at this as a great opportunity. I don’t think there’s any person in the world with a ranking like mine that is faced with the kind of situation I’m in this weekend. And I feel very confident in my ability to cope with everything, play well and come out well, whatever the result. For me, it represents an even greater opportunity than if I was playing No 2 to Andy because, with him not being here, people are watching me a lot more closely. I can only regard that as a massive chance.
“In a sense, this is what a lifetime’s work is all about – the chance to play someone like Nalbandian in Argentina in the Davis Cup. If I never hit another tennis ball in my whole life, I’ll have this memory in the bank and it’s going to be worth every minute, however many there are. This may never come my way again – that’s the only way you can look at it.”
One wonders whether it is being derogatory to suggest to Baker that Britain’s chance of winning this tie, given Argentina’s greater experience, their advantage of a home draw, the surface and the weather, is about 20 per cent. “I’d say that was being very generous,” he said.
Reinforcements have arrived in the shape of Richard Bloomfield, the 24-year-old from Norwich, called upon in case of injury to Baker or Alex Bogdanovic. Without him, Britain would have had to call on either Jamie Murray or Ross Hutchins, the doubles specialists who do not possess a singles ranking, as cover.
As it is, the LTA has told Paul Hutchins, the former Davis Cup captain and now head of men’s tennis, to stay at home this weekend, rather than travel to watch Ross, his 22-year-old son, playing with Jamie Murray in what is likely to be Hutchins Jr’s last such match at this level.
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The governing body says that his father’s work is in Britain, but Hutchins would be giving up only four days to be with his son for his once-in-a-life-time opportunity. Four days’ work set against four decades of underachievement; does it really matter?