Analysis
Davis Cup 2026: Three takeaways from GB’s win over Norway
What a week for the Lexus Great Britain Davis Cup team as they booked their place in the Qualifiers second round in September.
The Brits will face Ecuador at home for the chance to reach the Final 8 in November, after picking up a convincing 4-0 victory over Norway.
With plenty of positives and storylines coming out of the team’s trip to Oslo, we break down three key takeaways from this British win.
Jack Draper dominant in winning return
Jack Draper couldn’t have asked for a better return to competitive action – coming through his first match in five months in just 61 minutes.
The former world No.4 and Indian Wells champion showed positive signs during his injury comeback against Viktor Durasovic, claiming a 6-2, 6-2 win to give Great Britain an early lead in the tie.
Whilst it was important to get the win, the manner in which he did so will give himself and British fans plenty to be hopeful about for the remainder of the season.
In his brief time on court against the Norwegian No.3 dropped just three points behind his first serve, hit eight aces and broke his opponent four times.
The 24-year-old was explosive, showed great movement around the court and overall came away pleased with his week’s work in Oslo.
“I haven’t played Davis Cup in a long time so it’s good to be out here and I’m proud of my performance today,” he said. “It’s been a really difficult time since I’ve been away from the sport but I knew I had to keep on practicing my hardest and learning about myself. That’s hard work that no one sees and then when I come back hopefully I’m able to play some top tennis again."
Strength and depth in British tennis
Draper’s return was just one of several positives from a week that highlighted the current strength and depth in British tennis.
This was the first time that Captain Leon Smith has been able to call upon his top three singles players – Draper, Cam Norrie and Jacob Fearnley – and all three came away with a win.
Norrie’s performance against 19-year-old rising star and former junior Wimbledon champion Nicolai Budkov Kjaer was one of the highlights of the week. The British star stopped a run of 16 straight points on the Norwegian’s serve in the first set to break at 4-4 and then came back from a break down in the second to clinch the victory.
Then Fearnley came in to replace Draper in the fourth rubber against Budkov Kjaer and produced some breath-taking tennis in a 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 comeback win.
Being able to select three singles players with such quality is a huge asset for the British team. Both Draper and Norrie are currently ranked in the top 30 and Fearnley has shown his quality on the big stage – winning on his debut at all four Grand Slams over the last year.
If the team can stay fit and compete together throughout the rest of this year’s competition, there’s no doubt they will be contenders to go far this year.
Doubles experience crucial in deciding tie-break
It was a week to remember for Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool – winning their first match for the Lexus GB Davis Cup team and securing the victory over Norway.
However, it was far from plain sailing for the British stars, who were forced to a third set tie-break against singles players Budkov Kjaer and Durasovic, but came through 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5).
In those pressure moments, especially when it comes to playing key tie-breaks, the duos doubles experience really comes to the fore.
On the ATP Tour, men’s doubles matches are played as best of three sets with a deciding match tie-break in the third, meaning the regular doubles players are often playing these pressure points on a weekly basis. Developing strategies for those specific scenarios proved a real point of difference for the Brits against a team who came in and had a free swing against the Wimbledon champions.
“It obviously helps,” Glasspool said commenting on their experience. “We have a good game plan, we’ve won a lot of tie-breaks, back ourselves in those tie-breaks. It’s our game style so when we got to 6-6 we weren’t panicking. We knew what we had to do.
“Being doubles guys we’ve been there many more times than they have. We back ourselves in those situations.”
Having doubles pairs who play together week in and week out is no doubt a big advantage for the Lexus GB team and will continue to give the Brits an edge going forward in the competition.