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[Bevc]

GB is made up of England, Scotland and Wales.  Add N.Ireland and it becomes the UK.

Who do Northern Irish players represent then? Ireland?

Or do Northern Irish players just not exist?

Exactly what I asked!

This is one screwed-up country. Or is it five?

Great Britain is no longer the name of the nation state. Great Britain ceased to exist in 1801, when it became The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Act of Settlement. GB had two countries in the Union - England and Scotland - and the principality of Wales, along with the Dependant (or Occupied, according to one's view of history) Territory of Northern Ireland. There are also a number of self-governing member states, such as Gibraltar, The Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas!), and various other little residues of empire around the world. As of 1922, Southern Ireland was recognized as separate from Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_countries_make_up_Great_Britain

[Aileen]

Could have 17 year old Jonny O'Mara for the 2nd singles. Though it would more likely to be Fleming playing that role.

Thanks Allan.  I'm afraid my knowledge of Scottish tennis players is a bit limited, but having googled him O'Mara looks like a pretty good hope for the future of British men's tennis in general.  It doesn't say so in this article, but two years ago he wanted to follow Andy's example and go abroad to train - Munich being his choice - but it seems Judy, who was then his coach, appears to have dissuaded him.  http://www.midas-sports.com/clients/jonny-omara/

[Aileen]

 One man can't make a team and it's unfair of them to keep having a go.  

Perhaps they should have spoken more about the LTA having their funding cut due to the lack people participating in the sport.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/9183182/LTA-chief-Roger-Drapers-job-under-scrutiny-as-funding-is-cut-by-Sport-England-over-drop-in-players.html

Who's to say if Andy had played, GB would necessarily have won?  Andy would surely have won both his matches, but, the other two singles apart, our doubles' win was never guaranteed.

Typical Draper though - "not available for interview".  He never is when it comes to facing the music and answering awkward questions.

Interesting though that the reference here is to Sport England, because it would seem that in Scotland tennis is flourishing, thanks to the Tennis Scotland Performance Programme and the Gannochy National Tennis Centre at Stirling University, both of which come under the umbrella of SportScotland - a body funded largely by the Scottish Government with help from the National Lottery.  http://www.inthewinningzone.com/wz/Magazine/Spring-2012/Scots-stepping-up/637/  I live near municipal tennis courts which have been upgraded by the local Council and which also, so I understand, offer free coaching facilities.  Throughout the summer months they're usually busy - and I've even seen a few hardy souls play there in the winter.  I just hope the Murray effect continues after Andy retires!

[TheMadHatter]

Could have 17 year old Jonny O'Mara for the 2nd singles. Though it would more likely to be Fleming playing that role.

I've never even heard of him; if he's that promising would he not be high up in the Juniors rankings like Kyle Edmund (who is the same age, and at Braehead this week sat with the team I've noticed), or Liam Broady (year older)?

Genuine question (don't mean to sound abnoxious), there's a lot of the sport I don't understand and I know some teenagers barely play Juniors at all and that it's not a guideline for potential. Is O'Mara a good talent then? What's his story?]

Sorry, just really interested in this lad because as I said above, I'm surprised I've never heard of him before.

[Bevc]

Who's to say if Andy had played, GB would necessarily have won?  Andy would surely have won both his matches, but, the other two singles apart, our doubles' win was never guaranteed.

Typical Draper though - "not available for interview".  He never is when it comes to facing the music and answering awkward questions.

Interesting though that the reference here is to Sport England, because it would seem that in Scotland tennis is flourishing, thanks to the Tennis Scotland Performance Programme and the Gannochy National Tennis Centre at Stirling University, both of which come under the umbrella of SportScotland - a body funded largely by the Scottish Government with help from the National Lottery.  http://www.inthewinningzone.com/wz/Magazine/Spring-2012/Scots-stepping-up/637/  I live near municipal tennis courts which have been upgraded by the local Council and which also, so I understand, offer free coaching facilities.  Throughout the summer months they're usually busy - and I've even seen a few hardy souls play there in the winter.  I just hope the Murray effect continues after Andy retires!

I think that more people need to keep lobbying charities for funding, where they can (quite the norm here, even the ambulance service is run on charitable donations ) but people have to want it and have the room for it.  It's no good councils selling off land (sports fields/tennis courts) for property development but then if people aren't using the facilities, then they are going to do something with the land but then again, people aren't going to use the facilities if they aren't maintained and are expensive to access.  Vicious circle really. 

There was something on the news just the other day about a small 'village' near me (they don't use the word village here) that have just upgraded their sport facilities.  Population is about 1,000 and they have a new cricket ground, and refurbished their 3 tennis courts.

Took them 3 years and a lot of donations but they got there in the end.

http://www.nzct.org.nz/new-sports-centre-for-kaipaki/

[blueberryhill]

Aileen: real problem for tennis success at an international level, is Scottish weather, it would need massive investment in indoor courts or rather considerable climate change.

[Allan]

I've never even heard of him; if he's that promising would he not be high up in the Juniors rankings like Kyle Edmund (who is the same age, and at Braehead this week sat with the team I've noticed), or Liam Broady (year older)?

Genuine question (don't mean to sound abnoxious), there's a lot of the sport I don't understand and I know some teenagers barely play Juniors at all and that it's not a guideline for potential. Is O'Mara a good talent then? What's his story?]

Sorry, just really interested in this lad because as I said above, I'm surprised I've never heard of him before.

Edmund does seem to have progressed faster so as he does have a world ranking though O'Mara did win a set 6-2 against Marton Fucsovics (ranked about 550) a few weeks ago before losing in 3. He trains largly trains at Stirling Uni and does spend some weeks training at Roehampton. Rather like Fleming does when he's in the UK. Greg Rusedski's actually travelled up to Stirling Uni twice in the past 6 months for a few days at a time to help coach and mentor him.

He's hit with some of the GB squad at one of the ties at Braehead last year and he's going to be at Braehead again today (though he's not been there so far this week.)

He only really started to regularly play ITF juniors events after he left school last year. After today he's due to play play 5 weeks of junior tourneys.

[Grabcopy]

France, Spain and Germany all have over half a million registered competing juniors; we have something like 10,000.

Actually, I say 10,000. I believe about 600 regularly compete. That's an international embarrassment for a nation that hosts the world's premier tennis tournament.