Murray to miss funeral for Davis Cup duty

Andy Murray will miss his grandfather's funeral to play in Great Britain's Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina this weekend.

Gordon Murray, the father of Andy and Jamie's father Willie, died last week.

Andy missed Thursday's press conference at Glasgow's Emirates Arena, reportedly so he could attend a family gathering, but Jamie was present.

The older Murray brother will only play in the doubles rubber on Saturday and will therefore be able to go to the funeral.

At the same time, Andy will be playing in the standout - and potentially decisive - rubber against Juan Martin Del Potro, which opens the tie.

The pair battled against each other for more than four hours in the Olympic gold medal match in Rio last month, with Murray eventually coming out on top.

Del Potro's status as only the third-ranked Argentina player, as he continues to work his way back from a long absence during which he underwent three wrist operations, lent an unusual level of intrigue to the draw.

Normally the big singles matches take place on Sunday but Guido Pella was given the nod to be Argentina's No.1 ahead of the higher-ranked Federico Delbonis and will play Kyle Edmund on Friday.

Argentina captain Daniel Orsanic, though, had no qualms in declaring Del Potro his side's most important player.

"Without a doubt," he said. "I think he's going through a very good moment. His comeback I think is good for the world of tennis so you can imagine what it means for us Argentinians."

GB captain Leon Smith opted to name both Edmund and fellow singles player Dan Evans in his four-man team ahead of Dom Inglot.

That removed the back-up doubles option, meaning Andy will once again be asked to play with Jamie on Saturday and compete on all three days.

The 29-year-old has admitted to fatigue following a hectic summer that saw him win both Wimbledon and the Olympics but Smith is confident he can produce more heroics for his country.

"We saw last year in the semi-final against Australia, you could see Andy was fatigued and he still found a way to do it," said Smith.

Edmund, who led Britain to victory in the quarter-final against Serbia in July in Andy's absence, was given the nod ahead of Evans for Friday's opening clashes.

Britain are hoping to follow up their remarkable Davis Cup triumph last November, a first for the country in 79 years, by setting up a final against either France or Croatia.