Andy and Jamie Murray saw off David Goffin and Steve Darcis 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 49 minutes to take a 2-1 lead after the first three matches in front of 13000 fans who turned out at the Flanders Expo in Ghent. The British team are one win away from clinching the first Davis Cup Trophy since 1936 and their 10th overall title. Andy Murray will play against David Goffin in the first Sunday’s reverse rubber. British 20-year-old rising star Kyle Edmund will face Ruben Belemans in the second Sunday’s match. British captain Leon Smith could opt to bring in James Ward if the Davis Cup tie will come down to the fifth match.
Andy and Jamie fended off 10 of the 13 break point chances they faced and converted six of their eight break point opportunities.
The Murray brothers are the first British brothers to play together in a Davis Cup Final since David and John Lloyd in 1978. Reggie and Laurie Doherty were the last Brits to win a Davis Cup title against Belgium in 1904 at Wimbledon.
Andy and Jamie Murray now boast a 4-0 winning record in their four appearances in the Davis Cup as a team. They beat Laurent Bram and Mike Vermeer from Luxemburg 7-5 6-2 6-0 in 2011, Nicholas Mahut and Jo Wilfried Tsonga 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-1 in the quarter finals at the Queen’s last July and Samuel Groth and Lleyton Hewitt 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-4 in last September’s semifinal against Australia. In their careers they have a 32-23 win-loss record in all their doubles matches as team.
Goffin has played only one Davis Cup doubles in 2012 when he lost alongside Ruben Bemelmans to Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins in the previous match against Great Britain in 2012. Goffin and Darcis have played only four doubles tournaments as a team and haven’t teamed up since 2013. They played just seven matches together and have a 3-4 win-loss record.
Andy and Jamie Murray held their first service game without dropping a point. In the second game Goffin held serve to love in the second game with a drop-shot.
There was little to separate between the two teams in the first six games. Goffin had not dropped a point on his serve and held his serve to love for the second time for 3-3.
Goffin hit a volley to earn the first break point in the 9th game at 4-all against Andy Murray’s serve. Andy saved with two serves.
Goffin dropped his first point against his serve with a backhand into the net. At the end of the first set the Murrays hit a couple of volleys to force the game to deuce. The brothers from Dunblane earned a break point on set point as Darcis hit an overhead smash wide
The Murray brothers earned a break point on set point, Murray swapped volleys with Goffin at the net before the Belgian hit the net to hand the break to the British team on the set point.
The Belgian team earned their third break point after a double fault by Jamie Murray. Goffin hit a volley winner to convert the break point for 2-1. Goffin sealed the second set with a volley.
Darcis brought up a break point in the third set with a passing shot past Jamie Murray. Goffin converted it by returning Jamie Murray’s serve down the line. Great Britain broke straight back on the second opportunity in the next game as Jamie Murray hit a volley. The Murray brothers went up 4-2 for a double break in the sixth game after two errors from the Belgian team.
The British team earned three break-back point chances at 0-40 in the next game and clinched the second opprtunity. The British team got the double break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. The Belgians earned two break points and converted the first chance when Jamie Murray hit a backhand into the net.
The Murrays bounced back by breaking to love for 5-3. After five breaks in the third set Andy Murray hit a huge service winner down the middle to clinch the third set for the 2-1 lead.
In the second game of the fourth set Great Britain rallied from 0-30 down. Andy Murray hit consecutive service winners to draw level to 1-1. In the third game Great Britain broke serve after a double fault by Darcis and a volley error by Goffin.
The Murrays saved seven break points in the decisive 15-point fourth game of the fourth set before getting a double break in the seventh game to pull away to a 5-2 lead. Andy Murray fired a service winner on the second match point to seal the win.
Great Britain is just one match away from clinching their first Davis Cup title since 1936. Andy Murray will need a win against David Gpffin to achieve the historic feat and follow in the footsteps of British legend Fred Perry who won the Davis Cup in 1936.
Andy Murray has won all his 10 Davis Cup matches played in 2015. A win by Andy Murray against Goffin would enable Great Britain to overtake France into sole possession of third place in the all-time ranking of Davis Cup title winners behind the USA and Australia.
“There was a lot of stress and tension. Picking Goffin didn’t surprise me and we knew it would be a dogfight but our boys played better throughout and produced an excellent performance yet again”, said British captain Leon Smith.
“We just needed to find a way to win more points on Jamie’s return side. We got more aggressive and started to turn it around. It was a great tactical mix-up. I will prepare like any other match for tomorrow. He is a world class player and with the crowd behind hi it will be a difficult match. We have two chances to try and win it tomorrow and if you have offered us that at the start we would have take nit”, said Andy Murray.
“There was so much noise. It was mental. We were shouting to each other at times but it’s brilliant but that’s what what you expect with so many passionate fans here for the final”, said Jamie Murray.
