AFTER Judy Murray's first Fed Cup win against Portugal on Wednesday, she said her role as the AEGON Great Britain Team captain was simply one of "keeping the players company".
Following victory over Austria yesterday which clinched promotion to the World Group Two Play-Offs, it would be safe to say that it was a rather modest appraisal of the part she has played in helping her side become the first British team since 1993 to reach the World Group level.
It was unfortunate that such a special achievement in British tennis was accomplished on a side court with a seating capacity of 108, but that did nothing to detract from the moment as the British team embraced in delight and elation after Elena Baltacha secured the tie with a 6-1, 6-4, victory over Tamira Paszek.
Murray may not have hit a ball this week, but her impact on the British team has been evident. She has forged a tremendous team spirit which has made quite an impression on the people of Eilat. There may only have been three travelling British supporters, but there has also been a number of locals joining in the chants and draping Union Jack flags over their laps. And it is not just off-court that Murray has had an impact. "Judy is very relaxed and fun, but is very good at tactics," said Baltacha. "We have a laugh in the evenings but when we are on court, we know it is time for hard work and business.
"Judy brings so much in tactics by studying the opposition and understanding how you can hurt them in different ways, and all that makes for a very good combination."
In their matches this week, the British team have battled hard from start to finish and they have all played their part. Although Heather Watson and Laura Robson – the two teenagers regarded as the future of British women's tennis – did not have to play yesterday, their win in the doubles to clinch victory against the Netherlands on Thursday played a vital part in helping Britain into yesterday's play-off.
Anne Keothavong got yesterday's tie off on the right note, beating Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 7-6 (5), 6-3, before Baltacha stormed out in stunning fashion, taking the first 16 points of her match, and then holding her nerve to claim the win for Britain and improve her impressive Fed Cup win-loss hard-court record to 19-1.
"If you could bottle Elena's fighting spirit, you could sell it and make a fortune," said Murray. "It is a captain's dream to be sitting on the bench with her. I have known her since she was a young girl and she has always been like that, but to have her leading the team is a real joy."
For Murray, it has been a hugely satisfying first experience as captain. "I've really enjoyed the challenge," she said. "I knew all the girls from before, although not that well, and I didn't have huge experience of the women's game.
"I have had one day at home since December 28 when I went to Auckland and have invested the time trying to get to know not just our girls but the opposition as well, and it's paid off because we have an amazing team spirit.You can see from our reaction at the end."
Murray and her players can now look ahead to the draw on February 14 and a tie in April, either home or away, against potential sides including the USA, France and Australia. A prospect which Murray predicts will be "yet another challenge".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article