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1 hour ago
Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley will be Great Britain’s first-choice singles players for next week’s Davis Cup relegation play-off in Poland, with Jack Draper unavailable through injury.
World number five Draper withdrew from the US Open before his second-round tie last week because of the arm injury which disrupted his preparations for the tournament.
Britain will aim to avoid relegation from the top tier of the Davis Cup when they face the unseeded Poles in a World Group I best-of-five tie on 12 and 13 September in Gdynia.
Norrie reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year before falling to Carlos Alcaraz, and also made it to the fourth round at Roland Garros, beating Daniil Medvedev and compatriot Fearnley on the way.
“Norrie has had a really, really good year and he has started to make some excellent progress on the clay,” said GB captain Leon Smith.
“He’s in a really good place and it’s great to have a player with his experience and Davis Cup record in the team.”
Fearnley is ranked 60th in the world and overcame former world number four Kei Nishikori in straight sets on his Davis Cup debut in January.
The 24-year-old also beat Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut this week to secure the first US Open main-draw win of his career.
“We know what a quick rise up the rankings he’s had in the last 18 months and what was really pleasing was seeing him put in a great performance to beat Agut,” Smith said.
Arthur Fery, 23, who upset 20th seed Alexei Popyrin at Wimbledon in June and won his first Challenger title in Colombia this month, has been included in the team.
World number one doubles pair Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash will also make their debut for Britain in the relegation tie.
Britain were handed the away relegation play-off after losing their 2025 Davis Cup first-round tie 3-2 against Japan in February, with Norrie and Draper absent.
Smith’s side must win to progress to the first qualifying phase of the 2026 event and maintain their chances of reaching the eight-team finals this year.
“Away ties are always challenging, and Poland are a strong team,” Smith said.
“We are under no illusion it’s going to be a tough tie, but I think with our team we should go with confidence and do everything we can to win this important match.”