Lloyd bullish about cup chances

Captain John Lloyd believes Great Britain have a good chance of securing an immediate return to the Davis Cup World Group.

Britain will host Ukraine in a Europe/Africa Zone Group I tie on May 8-10 next year with the winners progressing to a play-off to rejoin the elite and Lloyd is bullish over his side's chances.

He said: "This is definitely a match we're capable of winning."

He added: "Now it's time for us to do a bit of research on what is the best surface for the players.

"I'll spend some time studying the results of their players over the last year and start thinking about where we're going to play.

"We beat them last time when we had to travel away so I'm confident that we will be able to do it again."

British number one Andy Murray beat Ukrainian number one Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets three years ago and his ongoing involvement in the Davis Cup is Lloyd's top priority.

Murray confirmed his commitment to the team after the weekend's 3-2 defeat by Austria, a result that ensured relegation to the Davis Cup's second tier.

But he was disillusioned by the performances of his team-mates, most notably Alex Bogdanovic, who lost both his matches, including the decisive rubber against Alexander Peya.

Murray's over-riding ambition is to build on his success at the US Open by winning his first Grand Slam, enabling him to break into the world's top three.