Belgium’s Goffin beats Britain’s Edmund in Davis Cup final

That was true of the 16th-ranked Goffin who ensured a more dramatic final by rallying for a 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-0 victory over the 20-year-old Edmund, the world No. 100 born in South Africa.

The first match of the day saw Belgium’s no. 1, David Goffin, take on Britain’s rising star Kyle Edmund.

Bemelmans, for his part, continued to attack, used the drop shot, came to the net time and again-he would do so a total of 38 times in the match-but still Murray broke again to serve out the set, 6-2.

Another early breakthrough got the second set off to a positive start and this time Bemelmans struggled to compete with the British number one, Murray using the lob to sensational effect as his opponent looked to mix his game up.

The start of the third went by the way of serve as Bemelmans managed to save three break points before snatching Murray’s serve to go 4-2 up, but the Scotsman instantly broke back. Early in the third set Murray was warned about his language and was then deducted a point for another outburst, while Soren Friemel, the match referee, stepped in to have words as Van Herck became particularly animated.

Edmund just seemed burned out after the flawless two sets he played, managing to hold serve only twice in his 11 service games in the last three sets. Kyle had good intentions and was really heavy and aggressive with his forehand.

He realises he will never be a serial majors victor like Djokovic, Federer and Nadal but if he were to win nothing else of great significance for the rest of his career a Davis Cup winner’s medal will sit very proudly right alongside his Olympic, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadow prizes. A win there would leave Murray needing a point from his reverse singles match with Goffin on Sunday to complete the win.

Edmund’s scintillating level had to diminish, and it did to give Goffin hope in the third set.

The victory made it nine out of nine for Murray in Davis Cup this year and he will look to make it 10 alongside his brother Jamie in the doubles on Saturday. However, this was on an indoor hard court while the final will be played on indoor clay.

Goffin threatened to turn things around as he pulled it back to 5-3 but, just as things were getting really hairy, Edmund stepped up again.

He said: “I don’t mind a feisty atmosphere like that”. He couldn’t get near me.

“I think both teams are capable of winning all of the points here”, said Murray afterwards.

“You feel like you’ve let them down”. Quality, home crowd and experience prevailed in the end, giving us an interesting first rubber in the Davis Cup final despite Murray being the clear favorite versus Bemelmans in the second rubber.

With David Goffin beating Kyle Edmund in the first match, the final is now guaranteed to be decided on Sunday. But he still had to save a set point at 5-4 after double faulting, letting out a huge roar as his opponent failed to return his second serve.

“I’m sure that’s why Andy and the other players love playing in it, because it’s different”. He was forced to save break point before holding, and he knew that serving first in the set meant he either played ahead or at worst tied, rather than playing from behind.