Peya keeps Austria in the World Group

Austria retained its place in the World Group of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas after the team beat Great Britain 3-2 in their Play-off tie at Wimbledon.

The tie came down to the fifth and deciding rubber which meant that for all that the home side had Andy Murray, the world No. 4 and the US Open finalist, in their side, their fate depended upon the talent and resolve of Alex Bogdanovic, the world No. 162. And it was not enough. Alex Peya, the world No.164, beat Bogdanovic 26 64 64 62.

Bogdanovic is like the little brother of Britain's team. Everyone seems very fond of him but no one is quite sure where he belongs in the set up. The rest of the team know their place – Andy Murray is obviously the lead singles man, Jamie Murray is the lead doubles man and Ross Hutchins is the doubles specialist who can play with either of the Murray brothers – but Bogdanovic is different.

Bogdanovic lets early advantage slip

He is blessed with talent but burdened with nerves. Where both Murrays relish the big match moment, Bogdanovic frets and worries that he is about to let his teammates down. His lefthanded serve can do damage, his forehand can be a weapon and his one handed backhand is, on its day, impressive. And then he gets into the lead, panics that he might lose and then, like all good self-fulfilling prophesies, he loses.

The whole team had been trying their hand at psychology this the week, geeing Bogdanovic up and trying to build his confidence. After Murray won his showdown with Melzer in the morning, he had even tried to get the 9,000 strong crowd to do their bit. "More of the same, please," he pleaded of them as they cheered him to the rafters. "Alex needs every bit of encouragement and support."

For 50 minutes the hooting and hollering worked as Britain's No. 2 eased through the first set and started work in the second. But then, from nowhere, the gremlins struck. "Psst – Alex, you're winning," the little voices said as he went to serve. It was enough to break the spell and cause Bogdanovic to drop his serve. He broke back three games later but was broken again in the very next game and the set slipped from his grasp.

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