Murray the key as Britain and Belgium contest Davis Cup final

That’s the view of those close to the Great Britain camp, where the 20-year-old is now practicing ahead of the final against Belgium in Ghent, which begins on Friday.

The security situation is not the only point of tension ahead of the match, after former Davis Cup team captain David Lloyd criticised Murray for not doing enough to promote tennis in Britain.

“I think the court’s good”, Andy Murray said from beneath a woolly hat and tucked up in a puffa jacket. “We haven’t done it since 1978 and it is such a great event”. If Murray (I mean, ahem, Great Britain) wins the final, it is an accomplishment as admirable as any Grand Slam he will ever lay his hands on, and arguably the most impressive solo effort in the Cup’s storied history.

Against a resilient French team in the quarterfinals at the Queen’s Club, the brothers teamed up to win the doubles event while Andy once again posted singles wins for a 3-1 victory. “It hasn’t been a cheap route to the final – they’ve earned it – and they’ve done it”.

“I feel fine. It’s obviously helped me physically to go to South America and play on the clay”.

The Davis Cup, a solitary team competition in a solo game, has been around since 1900, with players from all corners of the world joining forces to represent their country, often setting aside fierce personal differences. I think that is a mark of a great captain and I put Leon Smith in one of those sort of categories. They need two wins from their star player if they hope to take home one of the best trophies in all of sports.

“But it was obviously not a negative that Andy did what he did to him in Paris”. “He’s achieved something that no other person has achieved so he’s got to be congratulated”. “But this huge building is sure to come to life once the 13,000 fans arrive on Friday for the first day of the match, which is expected to pit Murray against Steve Darcis and [Kyle] Edmund against Belgium’s best player, the world No16 David Goffin”. I ended the year very early so I could rest. You’re low on energy levels so there is a chance of injury.

Ward returned home a week before travelling to Ghent but, having won a title in Buenos Aires to put himself in pole position to play against Belgium, Edmund stayed on to play a tournament in Montevideo. “I’ve been practising on clay for three weeks”, he said.

But with security set to be strict around the Flanders Expo Arena, the Scot said: “You have to try to get on with life as normally as much as possible”.

Betway Marketing and Operations Director Anthony Werkman said that both Fed Cup and Davis Cup are a ideal match to the operator’s roster of exiting partnerships.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more; the suicide bombings in Beirut that killed 43 people and injured more than 200; and the downing of the Russian jetliner carrying 224 people in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

“It’s rather like a fast bowler or swing bowler”.

“I don’t have to worry about what he is going to do on the court and how he is going to perform because he has been in those situations, real high pressure matches for the biggest prizes in tennis so I am not worrying about him choking the match or being unable to play because he has been in that situation so many times”.