The Davis Cup final group stage event has a different feel for the England team without Andy Murray for the first time since his recent retirement.
Dan Evans and Neal Skupski form a memorable team to secure security ‘Mad’ double win that led England to victory Having qualified for the eight-team tournament in Manchester last year, he remained with the team alongside Draper to provide experience.
But late bloomers Billy Harris, who is ranked world number 101 at 29, and 28-year-old Wimbledon doubles champion Henry Patton could make their debuts.
Britain’s No. 2 Cameron Norrie recently missed the US Open with an arm injury.
Smith praised Draper’s willingness to play for his country despite his short break following his stint in New York.
Draper wore a strap around his right thigh before hitting the ball with England No.10 Charles Broom for about an hour in Manchester.
“He’s really excited to be here, but we’ve got to get him out there and see how he’s doing and evaluate him,” Smith said Tuesday before Draper joined the team.
“Ultimately I will make the decision on that. I have to pick the team that I will play for because there are really important games tomorrow and at the weekend.
“We need to weigh the risks and rewards a little bit.
“We have four players on our team who are capable of playing tomorrow and they are doing a great job.”
Smith’s squad will face Finland, Argentina and Canada in round-robin matches at the AO Arena in Manchester.
The top two teams will advance to the eight-nation final in Malaga from November 19-24.
