WITH his Wimbledon title, US Open crown and Olympic gold medal, Andy Murray has done more for British tennis than anyone since Fred Perry. Today, he can lead the country into the semi-finals of the Davis Cup for the first time in 34 years.
Victory over whoever a shell-shocked France put out in the first of today’s two reverse singles – Gilles Simon being the most likely but Richard Gasquet a possibility – will give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead and send them into the last four, or as it is known for a country starved of success in this event, dreamland.
With a 12-2 winning record against Simon, Murray will be a big favourite. But for all the elation of going into the final day 2-1 up after yesterday’s outstanding victory by Andy and brother Jamie Murray in the doubles, no-one is taking anything for granted.
“Today was a really good day and we’re proud of what these two brothers have done for the team,” captain Leon Smith said. “Certainly we’ll enjoy it but quite quickly we go back and focus on getting Andy, first and foremost, ready as best as he can because he’s got a tough match. And he’ll have to draw on everything he’s got to get through it – which he will, as he always does.”
We have been here before, of course. Last year, Andy Murray and Colin Fleming’s doubles win on the Saturday put Britain 2-1 up against Italy in the quarter-finals, only for it all to unravel on the final day.
But that was on clay, in Naples, and in Fabio Fognini, the hosts had someone who on his day can beat anyone on that surface. Today, fully recovered from the back surgery that was still bothering him last year, Murray is at home, on his favourite surface and anything other than victory would be a massive disappointment.
Yesterday, though, was Murray’s day, or rather the Murrays’ day as Andy and Jamie teamed up for a brilliant 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut.
Jamie, in particular, was outstanding, returning well, serving strongly and dominating the net exchanges, especially in the second and third sets as Britain gained the upper hand.
The fourth set was almost an exhibition and the elder Murray brother, coming off his first men’s doubles Grand Slam final at Wimbledon just a week ago, can rarely have played better, certainly not on as big a stage as this.
“It was a magic day,” Jamie Murray said.
“The crowd were brilliant, weather was good, tennis was great and it puts us in a good position for tomorrow.”
When Andy was broken in the first game of the match, the omens didn’t look good against a French pairing far more experienced, in Davis Cup doubles at least, than the Murray brothers.
It took Andy Murray a set and a half to really find his range but a break for 3-1 in the second set settled him and from then on, the brothers were in unison, bouncing off each other and feeding off the energy of a crowd that was twice as loud as the opening day.
Having levelled the match, Britain stayed strong on serve but leading 6-5 in the third set, the world No 3 gave all Britain fans a worrying moment as he slipped attempting a backhand and fell down, clutching his groin.
It looked painful but after short treatment, he recovered well and though the French held serve to force the tie-break, Murray forced Mahut into an error, prompting him into a reaction that surprised everyone, including his brother.
“Obviously that tie-break proved critical,” Jamie Murray said.
“I don’t really even remember much about it to be honest other than Andy getting that serve back, Mahut diving and turning round and seeing Andy six feet off the ground.”
As The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles rang out around the stadium immediately after, it seemed more like Glasgow than west London.
“I think the crowd were great from the first to last point,” Jamie Murray said.
“But home support, it’s great to have it.
“As long as we’re playing home ties, everyone who’s coming to watch should be there and cheering as loud as they can and trying to help the players because it does really help us to perform as best as we possibly can.”
An early break in the fourth set sent the Murrays on their way and the French defence wilted in the face of the energy coming from the other side of the net.
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