Rusedski content to watch X-factor develop with Murrays

Greg Rusedski was thinking ahead yesterday, his thoughts turning towards both the new era stretching out in front of him and British tennis, the long-term fortunes of which are likely to rest with Andy and Jamie Murray.

Rusedski was looking forward to taking walks in the park with his 15-month-old daughter Scarlett and being able to have more than one pint in the pub. Most of all he is looking forward to watching the Scottish brothers take their sport into a bold but difficult new era.

Rusedski has always been rightly proud of his cussed, stubborn streak. It saw him take a limited talent to No.4 in the world and, even more remarkably, find a way to reclaim both his reputation and his career after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone in 2003.

He sees the same inner steel in both the Murrays, the elder of whom carried him through Saturday's tie-winning doubles rubber and thus granted him the ideal send-off. "I wasn't really worried in the least about Jamie," said Rusedski.

"I knew he was going to handle the big situation fine.

"From a young age Jamie realised: Andy's going to be the big superstar. I'm going to make my livelihood as a doubles player. I'm going to be the best doubles player I can possibly be'."

Rusedski talked about the "X-factor" possessed by both Murray brothers, the intangible grittiness which turns talent into trophies and which has been absent from the majority of players this country has produced in the last two decades.

That paucity of talent means Andy Murray will not have a rival in the way that Rusedski had Tim Henman and vice versa. "It definitely spurred us both on," said Rusedski.

"I think if I was one of the younger players then I would be working as hard as I could because what are the chances of getting on a Davis Cup team and maybe playing a live rubber with Henman and the two Murray brothers? If that doesn't motivate you then I don't know what will."

Henman is a year younger than Rusedski and can probably be relied upon to linger for another season. He will therefore be available to help the Murrays get Britain back into the Davis Cup World Group via a promotion play-off in September.

Though Great Britain are more likely to play the tie at home than not, most of the potential opponents - including Australia, Croatia and Switzerland - are strong teams and beating them will require all three men to be in form and fit, especially as either Andy Murray and Henman would probably have to play singles and doubles.

By far the worst case scenario is that the Britons would have to travel to Chile to face, on clay, a fearsome team made up of Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez and team-mate Nicolas Massu, who won Olympic gold in doubles together in Athens in 2004, the same year Massu won gold in singles.

If Great Britain are granted a home tie, then the next problem for the Lawn Tennis Association will be in finding a suitable indoor venue.

While the prominence of the Murrays in the side might suggest a return to Scotland, last year's disastrous tie at the Braehead Arena, which saw poor ticket sales and defeat for the team, makes it unlikely. Jamie Murray, who made a rare outing in singles yesterday when he lost 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 to Robin Haase in one of the dead rubbers, said he was in favour of a return to Birmingham. "They seem to get Davis Cup here," he said.

Murray also revealed that his coach Louis Cayer has signed a contract with the LTA under which he will work with the Scot one week in every month and nurture other budding doubles players the rest of the time in a similar arrangement to that currently enjoyed by his brother and Brad Gilbert.

Money can buy coaches of Gilbert and Cayer's calibre and the LTA has plenty of that, but it cannot help manufacture gumption and determination. Fortunately, both Murray brothers are clearly blessed with plenty of what Rusedski had and that fact alone makes the retirement of one of British tennis' leading lights less of a blow that it might otherwise have been.