GB back in Davis Cup elite with ‘really good chance’

Great Britain captain Leon Smith says his team have a “really good chance” of winning next year’s Davis Cup if world number seven Jack Draper is fit and available.

British number two Cameron Norrie sealed a place in February’s qualifiers – and therefore a chance to go after the 2026 title – with victory over Poland’s Olaf Pieczkowski on Saturday.

Norrie produced a professional performance, dropping just three points on serve, to win 6-4 6-4 against the world number 484 and give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five World Group 1 tie.

“Honestly, I think we’ve got a really good chance [of winning],” said Smith.

“It comes down to who is available to play. You need your top players to try and win it – that’s clear. But I hope the players are motivated to play.”

Smith was without British number one Draper in Poland because of a season-ending arm injury that caused the 23-year-old to withdraw from the US Open after a first-round win.

“I think there’s an appetite from our top players to want to play, and of course if you have got someone like Jack [Draper], when he comes into the team and you’ve got a top-tenner, it obviously makes a difference as well,” said Smith.

“We’ve got good depth with Cam [Norrie], Jacob [Fearnley], Arthur [Fery] and there’s others, and with strong doubles options you have a chance.”

Britain last won the Davis Cup in 2015 when Sir Andy Murray was part of the team.

Norrie’s victory to seal Britain’s place in February’s first round came after Wimbledon champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool missed an earlier chance when they lost their doubles rubber.

The world number one pairing, making their Davis Cup debuts, were stunned 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6) by Karol Drzewiecki and Jan Zielinski.

That outcome put the onus on Norrie to clinch the tie for Britain or risk the team facing a deciding match, and he came up with the required result to earn high fives from colleagues at courtside.

Britain had needed just one win on Saturday to progress from the tie after Norrie and Arthur Fery, who made his Davis Cup debut in the absence of Draper and Fearnley, won their respective singles matches on Friday.

Great Britain’s 2025 campaign is over and they can begin looking ahead to next year. The draw for the 2026 competition will take place after the eight-team Finals in November.

The first round of qualifiers in February 2026 will be contested by 26 nations who compete in 13 ties across two days. Winners go through to the second round later in 2026, where a wildcard team joins them to allow for seven ties.

Winners from the second round then progress to the Davis Cup Final 8 showpiece event, alongside hosts Italy, with a chance to win the title.

Norrie survived a scare on Friday in a tight contest against Tomasz Berkieta, ranked 511 places below him, to get Britain off to a winning start.

But with the tie in Britain’s grasp, the world number 34 produced an efficient performance against Pieczkowski.

A break in the ninth game of the first set proved decisive as Norrie held his nerve to serve out the opener to love.

As he did against Fery on Friday, Pieczkowski showed signs of fatigue in set two while Norrie’s level did not waver and he won every point behind his own serve.

The 30-year-old seized his one and only break opportunity in the seventh game and held serve from that point on without any concerns to wrap up a polished victory and put the tie to bed.

“I’d never experienced something like that before – watching that third-set doubles match, either we’re done and there’s no pressure, or the pressure quadruples and it’s all on me,” Norrie said after his win.

“I was a bit stressed watching that third-set tie-break.”

Norrie’s result will have come as a relief to Cash and Glasspool, who had started well in the doubles but ultimately lost out in a dramatic tie-break.

They were perhaps feeling the pressure of representing their country for the first time in Davis Cup, as well as the effects of a hectic campaign which has included historic wins at Queen’s and Wimbledon before their recent shock first-round exit from the US Open.

Dan Evans, a member of Britain’s triumphant 2015 Davis Cup squad, said of the doubles pairing on Tennis Channel: “I have to be honest, I thought the British guys together as a team were pretty poor. They were not as one out there.