Britain's Greg Rusedski has withdrawn from his team's Davis Cup tie with Australia in February as he is recovering from foot surgery. Although he will play in Doha in the first week of January to determine whether or not he can participate in the Australian Open, the first major of the new season, he has already informed British captain Roger Taylor that he will not play in the World Group first-round tie in Sydney, which gets underway on February 7.
"I don't want to put the Davis Cup team in a difficult position by giving them last-minute notice if I had to withdraw," explained Rusedski. "I'm not sure how my foot will react in Doha, let alone the Australian Open. The surgeons warned me that it would take four to six months to recover from the operation."
Britain has not won a World Group tie in the Davis Cup since 1986 and defeat in Australia would force them into another relegation play-off.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
