Andy Murray will not compete in the Davis Cup after losing to Alexander Zverev in Indian Wells

Andy Murray has decided to boycott the Davis Cup Finals next month because he “doesn’t believe he deserves to participate on that squad.”

Murray, 34, was defeated 6-4 7-6 (7-4) by Alexander Zverev in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday night.

In 2015, he helped Great Britain win the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years by winning 11 out of a possible 12 points.

He told BBC Sport, “I’ve contributed a lot to the Davis Cup, often to my own physical disadvantage.”

“When I played Davis Cup at the conclusion of last year, the same thing happened. I was aware of the coronavirus, but I was battling it up until September of the next year.”

Murray sustained pelvic bruises in the 2019 Finals in Madrid, missed the Australian Open, and was unable to play again until August of the following year, when the tours returned after a hiatus due to the pandemic.

At recent weeks, he has improved his game, coming close to beating third seed Alexander Zverev in Indian Wells and bringing Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in the first round of the US Open. He isn’t certain, though, that this is good enough to make Leon Smith’s GB squad.

“I also don’t feel like I’d be playing right now,” he added. “Obviously, Leon has the last say, but I’m not convinced I deserve to be on that team.

Murray said that his loss against world number four Zverev was “disappointing,” but that he could draw positives from the encounter.

He jumped out to an early lead before Zverev calmed in and grabbed the first set.

Murray got the early break in the second set, then let Zverev to reclaim control, only for the German to make some uncharacteristic errors as former world number one Murray forced a tie-break.

After that, Zverev, a finalist at the 2020 US Open, was able to grab the vital points, although he was eager to praise his opponent after the triumph.

He added, “I’m delighted that I’ve beaten him since he’s the only one of the Big Four that I hadn’t beaten yet.”

“I’m always up for a challenge.”

“Even though I was down a break in both sets, I always stayed in the game. I’d always known I stood a good chance. Both of us performed at an exceptionally high level in the second set. It had the potential to go either way.

“It was an incredible contest. Andy performed admirably, perhaps as well as he has since his [hip] surgery. I hope he keeps playing like this, because tennis has been missing him for a long time, and it’s great to have him back.”

Zverev has reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells tournament for the first time since 2016, and he will face French 14th seed Gael Monfils.

“What I took away from that was that I had possibilities again,” Murray remarked.

“I didn’t feel like I played well, but I was still able to win.