Edmund to make Davis Cup debut in final, Murray opens against Bemelmans

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Andy Murray is ready to shoulder the pressure and carry Great Britain to a first Davis Cup title since 1936. In doing so, Edmund will become one of a very select group of players to make a tournament singles debut in the final. Murray then plays Ruben Bemelmans, who was surprisingly picked over higher ranked Steve Darcis. The land that calls Wimbledon home hasn’t even made it into a final since 1978, and only five years ago had to beat Turkey to avoid relegation to the fourth and lowest tier of the Davis Cup.

Admitting to a healthy dose of butterflies, Jamie Murray said: “When I’m not nervous is normally when I worry a little bit”.

“I think that it was always going to be a hard decision who started the weekend. I think looking at it as Belgium versus me is actually counterproductive to them, if that’s the case”.

He said: ” Throughout the year we’re having to deal with jetlag and travel. Obviously for myself personally, it’s my first match of the Davis Cup for my country.

Were there any hidden away then surely captain Leon Smith would not have omitted doubles specialist Dom Inglot from his team.

“It would be well deserved as well”.

“We will be there in force because it’s a huge moment for British tennis but it’s also a huge moment for our family”. That was kind of what we thought was going to happen.

He explained: “I think where Kyle’s ranking sits now, and he’s very comfortable on this surface, is why we’re starting that way”. That is the theory.

It has been an interesting journey through the tennis wilderness though, nowhere more so than in Odessa in 2006 when the visiting British team, which included Andy Murray, was given a changing room that doubled as a brothel.

“I’ve been practising with Kyle for the last few days and he is playing well so it’s not going to be easy for David on Friday”, said Murray.

“At the [lead-up] ties you think everything is fine, and the security, you don’t necessarily need it. But, in situations like this, it’s great we have such capable people able to give us the best advice”. He won challengers on clay court. “I don’t think he goes out of his way to present the game”.

“This will be the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of, and it will be the biggest occasion”, said Edmund, speaking at a news conference after being preferred to James Ward, whose victory over John Isner in the first-round tie against the United States in March was instrumental in Britain ending up in this hangar. It is a new experience for me. “But it’s a good problem and it’s exciting”.

He may not have been on top form at the ATP Tour Finals in London but if he plays anywhere near his best this weekend, two of the five matches needed to win the title are in the bag.

Murray also boasts a terrific record in the Davis Cup, with just two singles defeats – against Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in 2005 and Italy’s Fabio Fognini in 2014 – and 25 victories. Still, the format, which sees two singles matches on Friday, the reverse singles on Sunday, and a doubles contest in between, could yet see Ward utilized as an alternative, likely on the final day of singles.