Murray brothers power Britain to 2-1 lead

Great Britain have reached their first final in 37 years, and Murray has praised the effort made by the whole team in getting the country to their tenth Davis Cup final.

Belgium will need to win both singles matches on Sunday if they are to come away with the title.

Occasionally the home fans pushed the limits of fair play but Murray refused to criticise the crowd who made the opening day of the final such a colourful spectacle.

Then came the decisive game with the Britons saving seven break points.

The tie was 1-1 overnight after Murray and Goffin won the opening day singles.

“It’s not a nice feeling losing from two sets to love up”.

Now the Belgians really began to gel, with both making some fine overheads and angled passes to keep the Murrays on their toes. Two and a half years ago, Murray won Wimbledon as the first British player to do so since Perry in 1936.

Once the fans had left to celebrate in Ghent’s many watering holes, the Murrays spoke of what it all means to be brothers in arms in the pressure-cooker of a Davis Cup final. Neither team sniffed a major opportunity for the rest of the set as the servers dominated. It was plain that whichever team gathered that set would take command of the rubber, and therefore of the final.

The third set proved to be a tougher challenge for Murray as a nothing-to-lose Bemelmans tried to unsettle the Scot with a series of drop shots and net charges.

As world No 2 he is expected to see off world 16th-ranked Goffin, but the Belgian star has been feisty this weekend. However, the Brits struck right back this time around.

The elder Murray admitted he was slow to get going against the Belgian pairing of Steve Darcis and David Goffin. Two Belgian errors followed and the brothers were 4-2 up.

Belgium found themselves with a couple of break back points after Andy skewed a volley into the net. Thankfully, for the British supporters, the two holds were by Andy Murray.

The 28-year-old picked it up off the clay but seemed to think better of it, putting it to one side on his seat, perhaps for later.

He drilled a return down the line to break Jamie again in the third game of the third set as Britain’s position became increasingly precarious.

The likelihood is they will deal with it better than Goffin did. “We may never get the chance to do that again, so we have to enjoy that”. This is all happening on Jamie Murray’s service game so the entertainment was not finished yet. Belgium earned three more break points, but the brothers refused to go down.

The World No. 2 kept his composure, winning the set with a hard serve that was too much for Darcis to handle. A quick hold, and they had the 2-1 lead in the match. I just have to give everything I have for the match. If Belgium get theirs, it will be a battle to the death to decide the outcome of the Davis Cup. “For tomorrow and for Sunday, my motivation is higher than before the match”.

“They did very, very well today”.

“It’s obviously a good situation for them when they’ve already gone one up, they can put out a player and just say, “Go for it”.

Murray yesterday played alongside his brother Jamie in doubles against Darcis and Goffin. In the fourth set I was struggling physically, and in the fifth set.

“I don’t think (the doubles is) as important as in some of the ties”.

“I will be ready”.

“It’s far from over”, he said.