Jack Draper hails 'amazing' Leon Smith and urges him to stay on as GB Davis Cup captain... with 47-year-old still locked in talks with the LTA over whether he will stay on next season

Long-serving GB Davis Cup Captain Leon Smith has yet to sign a contract to continue the role next season, but received a vote of confidence from Jack Draper after defeat by Serbia.

Smith, who has been in the job since 2010 and captained GB to the 2015 world title, is currently discussing his role with the Lawn Tennis Association, which is combined with acting as head of men's tennis.

While there are arguments for a change, Draper gave an important endorsement as he is likely to be the most important player in future years.

'He creates an amazing environment,' said the 21-year-old. 'We all want to play for him, he is only positive around us in my opinion. It's up to him if he wants to step down or not, but I'd be very happy if he stayed on.'

Although Thursday night's 2-0 quarter final loss became most notable for Novak Djokovic's post-match outburst, it was also a deflating result after working hard to get through the qualifying round and group stage.

Smith chose to look at the Davis Cup season in the round, saying: 'Overall I loved the year. 

'Let's think about where we were, going to Bogota, coming through that, then going to Manchester. 

'We've lost in the quarter-finals here, but we've won four, lost one this year. It's a good record. It's a good year.'

A spokesperson for the LTA declined to comment on the contractual situation. 

Clearly Smith has done a fine job as Davis Cup team Captain, although he has not created the same success in his wider role as head of men's tennis.

There has been a slight improvement in the general picture, but the highly-funded, centralised system still struggles to produce any volume of elite talent. 

Draper is way ahead of others in terms of potential and of the other three top 100 players Andy Murray is 36, Dan Evans 33 and Cam Norrie was largely developed outside the UK.

The likelihood is that Smith will stay on for another season or so, with Murray surely in the running to replace him in the Davis Cup role once he has retired.

Meanwhile the International Tennis Federation has no plan to ban musical instruments at Davis Cup matches, despite Djokovic becoming enraged by what he saw as a lack of respect from a small section of the 5,000 travelling British fans during his on-court interview.

There is a widespread feeling that crowd noise and participation is part of the competition's appeal, while occasionally it does lead to problems.

A spokesperson for the LTA said: 'Passion is a unique component of the Davis Cup and it's a competition where emotions run high. We are lucky to have strong travelling support and would always encourage GB supporters to behave with respect for our opposition.'