Andy Murray, who will play the Davis Cup final against Belgium this weekend, wasn't thrilled with former Great Britain Davis Cup captain David Lloyd's recent comments.
Last weekend, Lloyd told the *Daily Mail* that Murray isn’t promoting the game enough, particularly for British tennis.
The former ATP player was part of the 1978 Davis Cup team that fell in the final to the United States. That year was the last time the Brits were in a Davis Cup final. Lloyd has been coaching for many years and consistently disagrees with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
"The British players in recent years who have been good—Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Andy—they don’t in my opinion put enough back," Lloyd said. "I mean putting your heart and soul into it, a passion that is bigger than the person and even bigger than the game. It’s about getting a kid who wants to play for Manchester United to want to play tennis instead.
"Andy is in such an incredible position with power to do that but he doesn’t. I don’t think Andy does justice in presenting himself. I don’t think he goes out of his way to present the game."
On Tuesday in Ghent, Belgium (the location of the Davis Cup final), Murray voiced his disagreement.
"It was a bit of a shame," Murray said. "But it's obviously not been the first time that's happened. It's a bit like sort of background music, like you know it's there but you're not really listening. That's it basically."
The 28-year-old has won two majors and a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, but is hoping to win the Davis Cup.
This season in Davis Cup play, the Scot has gone undefeated (8-0 in singles and doubles), and helped Great Britain beat the United States, France and Australia. The Brits haven't won the Davis Cup since 1936.
"To win the biggest team competition in tennis, having beat the other three Grand Slam nations, I think it would be a huge victory for everyone in the team," Murray said. "It would be well-deserved, as well. It’s taken a lot of time and hard work from many of the players, many of the staff, coaches, physios, everyone. When you win a Slam or a big competition, it’s years in the works. But this is a bit different. The last five years … it’s been a progression from a pretty low place in world tennis to playing for the biggest team competition."