Davis Cup final: GB comfortable with security – Andy Murray

“That match in Vilnius was played, basically, in a sports hall within a leisure centre”. And frequently, that effort has come straight after deep runs in tennis’s biggest tournaments. Murray reckoned he had won it with one and a half points. Although both teams have been practising on the specially constructed indoor clay court, there is still much work to be done before the 13,000 fans – including some 1,300 from Britain – arrive for the first day’s play on Friday.

With the Davis Cup such a rare opportunity however, one would expect Murray to have leaned towards his clay preparation a little more, with his presence at the World Tour Finals nearly a given every year now.

Security worries delayed the British team’s arrival by 24 hours. We just listened to all of the right people.

Officials say they are monitoring the situation on an hourly basis and implementing extra security measures with Ghent now on the country’s second highest risk alert – one below Brussels.

“I think with our game styles, he is the flawless partner for me with his return of serve and his feel for the game”, said the Scot, 29.

Julien Hoferlin was part of the British support team for several ties earlier in the decade, during their rise through the competition’s lower tiers in a five-year spell working for the Lawn Tennis Association.

“The day I played Andy it was just a day off for me”, Goffin said.

“In situations like this it’s great that we have such capable people that are able to give us the best advice and everyone, I think, is very comfortable in the team”, he said. Everything seems fine in Ghent. “I didn’t play really well but Andy was really aggressive, he played an unbelievable match there”. Each team has needed their unlikely heroes (Ward and Darcis), but whether they win or not depends on the performances of their star players. Obviously that changes the way the court plays and the way the ball travels through the air.

“The conditions here, it’s a completely different match, another surface. Good attitude. I feel like he’s the kind of guy that can handle pressure”, he said. That really helped me. So we try to focus on the job and we will be ready on Friday. “But I liked it yesterday”.

But the Londoner’s form has been very mixed and 20-year-old Edmund looked to have stolen a decisive march by winning a Challenger title on clay in Buenos Aires in front of Smith just over a week ago. ‘The most important thing is that we’re here now, we’re practising.

This season, like never before, Murray has dedicated himself to the Davis Cup as well as to his solo career, leading Great Britain to victories against the other three Grand Slam nations – defeating the United States in the first round, France in the quarterfinal and Australia in the semifinal. It would be well-deserved, as well.

“I know a lot of fans were staying there and planning on travelling through there”. But this is a bit different.