Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman captaining Great Britain in the inaugural ATP Cup is “really positive for British tennis”, says Andy Murray.

Murray has used his protected injury ranking to ensure Britain can play in the 24-nation event in Australia.

As the nation’s leading player the Scot can choose the team captain, and his mentor Henman has been asked to do it.

“He’s got a lot of experience, he’s a fun guy to be around and he played lots of Davis Cups,” Murray said.

Henman, 45, has been friends with Murray since the three-time Grand Slam champion was a teenager and has been chosen ahead of Davis Cup captain Leon Smith to lead Britain in the ATP tournament, to be held in January.

Britain have been drawn in Group C alongside Bulgaria, Belgium and Moldova after Murray made a late decision to use his protected ranking of second in the world for Britain to compete.

Murray, 32, says picking Henman was a collective decision of the British team, who discussed their options in group phone calls and text chats.

“Tim hasn’t had too much involvement in the performance side of British tennis since he stopped playing and I think it would be great for all of the players to have him come in and be involved,” Murray told BBC Sport.

“He can get to know the players better, I think he could help all of us and more British players just outside of the ATP Cup team.

“It is a great experience for him and I think it will make him want to be involved in that side of things, which I think overall will be really positive for British tennis.”

The ATP Cup, which carries 750 ranking points, is separate from November’s revamped Davis Cup but could amalgamate with that tournament in the future, according to International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty.

Murray will open his 2020 season by taking on Bulgaria’s former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov in Britian’s opening match in Sydney.

The former world number one will meet Dimitrov, who reached September’s US Open semi-finals and is ranked 20th in the world, on 3 January.

Murray was set to play Swiss great Roger Federer before the 20-time Grand Slam champion pulled out.

Federer, 38, said it would be “more beneficial” to spend more time with his family before the Australian Open later in January.

The withdrawal of the 20-time Grand Slam champion meant Switzerland were not eligible to compete because Henri Laaksonen – their next-highest-ranked player who committed to play the event at the first entry deadline – was ranked 110th at the time.

Murray told the BBC earlier this week it was “unfortunate” he would not be testing himself against Federer for the first time since having major hip surgery in January.

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Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram missed out on the ATP Finals doubles last four as they lost to Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

Victory would have seen Salisbury and Ram reach the semi-finals, but they were beaten 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 10-7 by Poland’s Kubot and Brazilian Melo.

Salisbury and Ram saved three match points before Ram sent a forehand into the net on the fourth.

Salisbury was the only Briton competing at the season-ending event in London.

In the singles event, Dominic Thiem of Austria and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini play their final group match at the O2 Arena.

They are followed by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, with the winner of that match advancing to the semi-finals.

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• Nadal boosts Finals hopes; Tsitsipas through
• Zverev denies using phone during match

Bob and Mike Bryan, the most decorated tennis doubles partnership ever, will retire after next year’s US Open.

The 41-year-old American twins have won a professional era record of 118 titles, including 16 Grand Slams, and have spent 438 weeks at the top of the world rankings.

“It has truly been a magical ride,” Bob Bryan said.

“However, we want to end this great ride while we’re healthy and we can still compete for titles.”

They will bid farewell at their home Grand Slam in September, which was where they made their major championship debut in 1995.

Bob Bryan had hip resurfacing surgery in 2018 – the same operation Britain’s Andy Murray had in January this year – and returned to the court five months later to continue the winning partnership.

Among their other successes, they helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007 and took gold at the 2012 London Olympics and bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.

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Alexander Zverev has denied using his phone during his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Finals.

Zverev was asked about the incident at a news conference after he was seen touching something in his bag at a changeover during Wednesday’s defeat.

The 22-year-old German, who lost 6-3 6-2 at London’s O2 Arena, said: “I don’t know what they saw, but it was definitely not a phone.”

Rules state players cannot access any electronic devices during matches.

“My phone was in the locker room. I always leave it there,” added Zverev.

Asked what he might have been touching, he said: “I mean, a water bottle? Empty water bottle maybe?”

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Roger Federer says his crucial match with Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals on Thursday is “a chance to get him back” for this year’s Wimbledon final.

The pair have not met since Djokovic saved match points to win Wimbledon’s longest singles final in July.

Whoever wins on Thursday will progress to the last four of the season-ending championships in London with the other eliminated at the round-robin stage.

“Personally, I’m excited to play Novak on Thursday,” Federer, 38, said.

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The Wimbledon final lasted four hours 57 minutes and was decided on a fifth-set tie-break after Federer had match points on his serve in the final set.

Asked if he still had bitter memories about the loss, Swiss Federer said: “We’ll find out, but I think it’s all flushed away from my side.

“I think we both can take away some confidence from the match. Him obviously a lot. Me maybe a tad bit less.

“But at the end of the day, I didn’t hope I was never going to play him again.

“Actually, it’s good for me to play him again, and maybe that all helps to get a chance to get him back or whatever it is.”

Djokovic, who has won his last four meetings against Federer, is aiming to equal the Swiss’ record tally of six ATP Finals titles.

The 32-year-old is also trying to overhaul Rafael Nadal as world number one but must win the tournament to do so after the Spaniard saved match points to beat Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday.

Both Federer and Djokovic have beaten Matteo Berrettini in their group but lost to Austria’s Dominic Thiem, meaning they need to win on Thursday to progress.

Former British number one Tim Henman says Djokovic is the favourite for the 48th meeting between the pair who have won 36 Grand Slam titles between them.

“He’s won quite a few of their more recent encounters,” Henman said.

“Federer looked better against Berrettini [than against Thiem] but he is going to have to up his game again, but if anyone can Roger can.”

Thiem and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas have already booked their places in the semi-finals.

Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram are in doubles action again on Thursday against Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo with the winner progressing to the last four.