David Lloyd, sacked as Britain's Davis Cup captain, continued to hold centre stage yesterday, suggesting he may sue the Lawn Tennis Association for libel over its claims that he undermined the spirit and morale of the players, .

"If you look at the last five years I have said nothing critical of the LTA until this year's Australian Championships when I said Arvind Parmar needed to get fitter," Lloyd said. The LTA is apparently confident Lloyd, dismissed on Monday, has no grounds for litigation.

After the appointment of Roger Taylor as the new captain, the LTA confirmed yesterday that Jeremy Bates, the former British number one, and currently the manager of men's national training at the LTA, has become the Davis Cup coach.

But suggestions that Greg Rusedski might turn his back on Davis Cup tennis because of Lloyd's dismissal appear well wide of the mark. Rusedski has always fully supported the Davis Cup since his British adoption, and would hardly risk undoing all the goodwill he has built up.