Henman will wear the flag

A NEW move to have Davis Cup teams play in national colours could send Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski out on court to face the Americans in Birmingham in April wearing the Union Jack, writes Richard Evans.

British captain David Lloyd is just one of a majority of World Group captains who are backing an initiative by the International Tennis Federation to smarten up the image of the competition in its centenary year.

At a meeting held here in Melbourne during the Australian Open, the proposal to have each country design its own shirt was warmly received by John Newcombe of Australia, Tomas Smid of the Czech Republic, Spain's Manolo Santana and others. "We are going to have to speak to the various clothing companies which have leading players under contract," said ITF spokesman Alun James. "But I am sure we can work out a way for everybody to benefit. For instance each company could follow a specific design and still have their own logo on the shirt." Lloyd thinks the idea is a winner. "There is no doubt that Tim and Greg will welcome it" said Lloyd. "When we had our initial discussion about Davis Cup, they both spent more time talking about the outfits they wanted, to ensure they properly reflected a national team, than they did about the money they would be receiving." Meanwhile, unseeded Swede Thomas Enqvist was in ominous form today as he confidently beat Marc Rosset of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

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