KYLE Edmund has been handed a debut to open Great Britain's efforts to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936. The 20-year-old from Yorkshire, the World No 100, got the nod from Leon Smith ahead of James Ward and will take on David Goffin, the World No 16, in the opening singles rubber at the Flanders Expo Centre in Ghent on Friday. Andy Murray following him on to the indoor clay court to take on Ruben Bemelmans, a left-hander who is the World No 109, with the Scot confirming to Smith he will play all three days in the tie. With doubles expert Dom Inglot left out to accommodate both Edmund and Ward, Andy and Jamie Murray will play together on Satruday against a Belgian team which for now comprises Kimmer Coppejans and Steve Darcis, although the hosts could change that selection up until an hour before the start of that rubber.
"It was always going to be a difficult decision who started this weekend," said Smith. "The good thing that coincided with this tie was that the number two singles players had all come into good form. James won a challenger in India, Kyle had won a challenger in South America. It was actually a really good situation to be in. I think where Kyle's ranking sits now, and he's very comfortable on this surface, is why we're starting that way. But still a very difficult decision.
"The doubles is fairly simplistic," he added. "There was no way that Andy and Jamie wouldn't be playing this rubber. They've played with such quality in the last two ties. So as soon as we made that decision, it's much better to have more singles options because who knows what happens over the next couple of days. It's good to have options for Sunday."
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