Andy Murray isn’t renowned as a man prone to letting sentiment get in the way of logic when it comes to his tennis career.
The cool-headed decision to pass up on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards was testament to that.
Quite rightly, he opted for the court work-outs of Miami over a couple of long haul flights at a crucial preparatory stage of the season.
Nobody held it against him, or took it as an ungrateful gesture, and he still won the award by a Dunblane mile.
So why is Murray suddenly letting sentiment affect his thinking when it comes to this week’s Davis Cup tie in America?
The Scot should be going nowhere near a clay court in San Diego, and he knows it.
“It’s not perfect for rehabbing a back surgery,” Murray admitted before he left Melbourne. “Ideally I’d stay on the same surface.”
Switching from hard courts to clay contributed significantly to the back injury which ended up needing operated on, and this is the last thing he needs when he is still experiencing stresses and strains as he works to restore full mobility and strength in that part of his body.
Murray will more than likely have to play three matches in three days this week and it simply isn’t worth the risk, especially as he’ll be returning to hard courts straight after the contest.
Success in tennis is defined by individual achievement. Murray does quite enough for his country by ending ridiculously long waits for grand slams and winning Olympic medals, and doesn’t need to put his recovery in jeopardy out of misguided loyalty to his GB friends.
Infact, deciding to indulge in the BBC back-slapping would have been a less reckless decision than playing in the Davis Cup this week.
Pragmatism suits your needs better than patriotism, Andy.