LONDON (AP) — Leon Smith, Andy Murray’s former coach, has been appointed captain of Britain’s struggling Davis Cup team.
Smith succeeds John Lloyd, who resigned last month after the team lost to Lithuania and dropped to the next-to-last level of the competition.
Smith’s first match in charge will be Britain’s relegation playoff against Turkey in July.
Smith has been a professional coach for 16 years, and began working with Murray when the Scottish player was 11. He helped Murray win the U.S. Open junior title in 2004.
A big task for Smith will be persuading the fourth-ranked Murray to play in the Davis Cup. He missed the Lithuania match, which was Britain’s fifth consecutive loss.
