Murray Shines in Davis Cup win

He is the first player to win eight live singles rubbers in a calendar year since the introduction of the World Group in 1981, and is only the second player to win 11 live singles and doubles rubbers after Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic in 2005.

But the talented Belgian didn’t make life easy for Murray, throwing everything at his opponent for three sets, most notably a 73-minute second set of enormously high quality from both players before Murray edged it 7-5.

Andy Murray’s straight-sets win over David Goffin sealed his team’s first title since 1936 and marked a remarkable recovery from languishing in the competition’s Euro-African Zone less than a decade ago. “Today I gave everything”, Goffin, who had given Belgium the lead on Friday with a five-set defeat of Kyle Edmund, told reporters. Andy Murray levelled matters, defying a raucous crowd to beat Ruben Bemelmans, and the Murray brothers won a tense four-setter in the doubles.

Gary Lineker acknowledged Britain’s first Davis Cup triumph for 79 years and added: “Perhaps now we can give Andy Murray the credit and plaudits he deserves”.

“It’s incredible that we managed to win this competition”.

The final of the Davis Cup was played between 27-29th November at the indoor clay courts of the Flanders Expo in Ghent, Belgium. I think that’s where the issue is a little bit. Murray said after the match that he will return for the first round tie against Japan, which will be in March, as the team tries to defend the win.

Promotion from the Davis Cup’s third tier was achieved with a whitewash over Hungary in Glasgow in September 2011.

“It captured [the imagination] of a lot of people”, Smith said. I didn’t know that would ever me possible.

“It feels unbelievable”, he said. If I do rest, it’s not like I’m going to lose all of the match fitness that I’ve built up over this year.

“I need to train really hard in the off-season if I want to have a chance of making this count for next year. Andy and Britain deserved the trophy”.

But Murray would get a vital break in the seventh game, facing triple break point Goffin hits long, giving the world number two an opening.

While Murray’s future in the Davis Cup is clouded by other commitments, captain Leon Smith is yet to negotiate an extension to his deal with the Lawn Tennis Association.