TENNIS – Davis Cup 2014. Murray drew level to 1-1 with his win over Seppi 6-4 7-5 6-3 in the second match which resumed on Saturday morning after it was suspended on Friday evening because of darkness. Later in the afternoon Murray, teamed up with Fleming, overcame a fightback from Fognini and Bolelli to win the doubles 6-4 6-2 3-6 7-5. Great Britain could reach their first semifinal since 1981 if Murray beats Fognini in the first reverse rubber on Sunday. Diego Sampaolo
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The singles match between Murray and Seppi was suspended on Friday evening when Murray was leading 6-4 5-5 after saving Saving four set points. Murray and Seppi resumed their match with a delay of 45 minutes after another downpour overnight.
The reigning Wimbledon champion needed 75 minutes to clinch the vital win for the British team who is bidding to reach their first Davis Cup semifinal since 1981 when they lost 5-0 against Argentina.
When the match was resumed at 5-5 in the second set, Murray converted his third point before closing out the second set with an ace.
Seppi fended off four break points in the first game of the third set Seppi broke serve for 3-1 but Murray recovered by clinching five games in a row to wrap up the third set with 6-3.
“The last few games went quickly but the first few games were long and the start of the third set was hard”, said Murray.
The Scotsman returned to the court later in the afternoon after 1 hour and 45 minutes for the crucial doubles match against the Italian team formed by Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli.
Murray got the first break of serve with a backhand volley winner.Murray hit a return to create the first break point of the match in the 8th game before clinching it to take a 5-3 lead. In the next game Fleming created a set point after hitting a volley in which he appeared to hit the ball twice but the umpire ruled the shot legal. Murray closed out the set with a half-volley.
The home team went down 0-2 after one hour and 10 minutes but they turned around the match when they fended off four break points in the third game of the third set. Italy broke serve in the next game raising the local hopes for a recovery.
The Italian team fended off four crucial break points in the third game before serving out for the third set to force the match to the fourth set thanks to the strong support of the home fans. Bolelli hit two forehands to hold serve for 1-1 before breaking serve with a backhand crosscourt winner. Great Britain went down 3-5 in the fourth set after another break for the home team but Fleming and Murray recovered to reel off four consecutive games to clinch the win.
With a double break lead for the Italian team Bolelli faltered when he was serving at 5.4. Great Britain converted the break point at 30-40 before holding to love in the next game. Fognini faced three match points on his serve at 5-6 0-40 Italy saved the first two match points but Fleming sealed the win on the third match point with a drop volley to the delight of British fans who travelled to Naples to support the British team.
The British team will need just a point from Murray who will meet Fabio Fognini. The Scotsman won their most recent match in 2009 in Monte-Carlo on clay. Fognini will have to play a perfect match to keep the Italian hopes alive.
“We managed to convert some chances in the fourth set. Colin came up with some good returns in the end and I felt like we deserved to win. Bolelli played an excellent match, he made it really tough for us and was hitting huge form the back of the court. It should be a tough match against Fognini. Fabio has played very well this year. It will be a great challenge. I hope to have a good match and get us to the semis”, said Murray.
