Roger Draper must pay for Davis Cup tennis failure, says Mark Petchey

By Mark Hodgkinson, Tennis Correspondent 700AM GMT 10 March 2010

Under vigour Roger Draper has nonetheless to spin around British tennis Photo DANIEL JONES

If Draper does not resign, Petchey believes the LTA"s legislature contingency remove him; differently the ruling physique will go on to rubbish millions of pounds.

On the day that one derisive bookie offering contingency on Cliff Richard replacing John Lloyd as Davis Cup captain, Petchey told The Daily that the difficulty in Lithuania, that put Britain one some-more improved afar from being in the bottom multiplication with the likes of Andorra, San Marino and Moldova, was "a unhappy indictment" of the dismal, "shockingly bad" state of British tennis after Draper"s 4 years at the LTA.

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It is Petchey"s perspective that Draper has squandered vast amounts of income on contracting "world-class" coaches, who lend towards to authority world-class salaries, and on using the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton in south-west London, whilst not putting sufficient supports in to mending grassroots tennis.

Though Lloyd"s destiny is in disbelief after he became the initial British captain to lose five uninterrupted Davis Cup ties, Petchey pronounced the outcome in Lithuania was not the error of Lloyd or the players, and if any one deserved to lose his pursuit it was Draper.

"I can"t recollect a some-more annoying part for British tennis. I"m certain there will be scapegoats, but you shouldn"t usually go and censure the players and the captain as this goes majority deeper than that. This is about the have up of British tennis, about the prophesy at the LTA. Losing to Lithuania was a unhappy complaint of where British tennis is now," Petchey said.

"Either Draper has to resign, or the legislature have to get off their hands, do their jobs and force him out. Unfortunately, I really majority disbelief either Draper will resign, so it"s going to take the legislature to do something about this.

"Draper has unsuccessful as the arch executive, his total prophesy for British tennis has failed; he"s not a leader. He has outlayed an unusual volume of income over the past integrate of years, millions and millions of pounds, and where has it got us? Nowhere. I think we"re in a worse on all sides with men"s tennis than we were when Draper took over."

On Monday, Draper referred to that "ripping it all up" at the LTA would do infinite repairs to British tennis. Petchey disagreed with that view. "It would be some-more deleterious for Draper to see out his stipulate and stay for an additional 3 years. Why lift on similar to this if we"re going nowhere?"

In 2008, Draper was since a five-year extension, receiving him by to 2013. "That was a intolerable bit of commercial operation by the LTA. What had he completed in his initial integrate of years to merit five some-more years? It would be costly to pouch Draper and compensate him off, but that would still be improved than for him to lift on in the job.

"It"s not as if this was a one-off distressing week end for British tennis. I take no wish in what has happened, but this outcome usually vindicates what I have thought for a prolonged time. British tennis has been shockingly bad for a prolonged time. The formula on the men"s side have been terrible. Draper"s prophesy has failed, and there contingency be consequences for that failure. I can"t see how he can lift on as the arch executive.

"About the usually great thing that come of this is that people will see the light and see that Draper"s prophesy has failed."

Petchey pronounced that, if Murray won this summer"s Wimbledon, and millions of young kids unexpected took an seductiveness in tennis, Draper"s LTA would not have the comforts in place to have the majority of it. "Draper"s prophesy has been to move in "world-class" this and "world-class" that, but what British tennis has indispensable is a larger importance on comforts and grassroots tennis. All the income could have been majority improved spent. We"re never going to get behind all the millions Draper has wasted.

"If Murray wins Wimbledon, and that gets millions of kids vehement about tennis, we won"t be means to house them as we don"t have the facilities. At the moment, the LTA are usually profitable lip-service to mending comforts and grassroots tennis. We need to be classification out the clubs, and giving kids some-more opportunities to fool around tennis locally. The National Tennis Centre is the emperor"s new clothes. I think everybody sees that, don"t they?"

This week, the LTA is conducting a examination in to what happened in Vilnius. Petchey does not assimilate why. "All this speak about carrying a review, if they have world-class people in place, afterwards because do you need a review? It"s usually PR-speak. If Lloyd is replaced, the LTA should deliberate Murray about Lloyd"s replacement, as Murray"s is the perspective that matters. If you wish Murray to wish to fool around in the Davis Cup, you have to speak to him and engage him."