Andy Murray's comeback from hip resurfacing surgery inspired former doubles partner Tim Henman to return—as captain of the British squad for the ATP Cup.

Former world No. 1 Murray asked Henman to captain the British team, which feature also features Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans. Henman said his excitement over Murray's comeback from surgery is a primary reason he accepted the post.

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"Once, you know, Andy sent me a message and said, How about it, I definitely gave it some serious thought," Henman told the media in London. "I think he's a significant reason why I accepted, because he's someone that I have had a great relationship for a long time. The impact that he's had on, you know, British tennis as well as world tennis has been enormous.

"Having seen what he's gone through with the hip surgery and how well he's come back, I think how he's taken so many people by surprise and I think how much more he's still got to improve, I think that's what's exciting and was, as I said, a big part of why I accepted the captaincy."

The 24-team ATP Cup will be staged January 3-12th, 2020 in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

"I'm the captain, but it's the players that are out on the court that are competing, and I want to create an environment that's going to give them the best opportunity to play their best tennis and hopefully win," Henman said. "You know, it's them that have to go out there and do the job on the court."

Great Britain will compete in Group C—staged in Sydney—against Belgium, Bulgaria and Moldova. Murray led the British squad to the 2015 Davis Cup championship with a 3-1 victory over host Belgium in Ghent. 

The 45-year-old Henman captured the first of his 11 ATP titles in Sydney in 1997 defeating Goran Ivanisevic and Carlos Moya in succession to take his maiden title.

Henman is excited to return to the Australian summer.

"I think when you look at the opportunity with the players, I think they've got 9 of the top 10 and 26 of the top 30, it's going to be very, very exciting," Henman said. "I look at the British team with Evans and Norrie and Jamie and Joe, and I think it's a great group of players.

"When the draw came out for the British team to be in Sydney, it was something I was excited about. It's where I won my first title in White City in '97. I'm pretty sure the sun is going to shine, so that's a lot better than here in the UK in January. I'm looking forward to it all."

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