Murray’s vast win, full of resolve and clever, wrong-footing tactics that kept the world number 23 on the run, followed his equally comprehensive opening-day victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, 6-3 6-0 6-3.
Advertisement
Murray’s only moment of alarm today came in the first set when Tomic briefly raised his level, breaking back from 2-5 down to level the set at 5-5.
They play Belgium away in November, after Steve Darcis’ 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 win over Argentina’s Federico Delbonis in Brussels on Sunday evening gave them a 3-2 win in the second semi-final.
“It’s so noisy in there, it’s hot, it’s draining with all the emotions from the first point to the last”.
Fortunately, Murray has never lost to Tomic, and he didn’t look like caving at any point in their third meeting, storming to an early 3-1 advantage when his rival fired win.
Australia Davis Cup captain Wally Masur spoke to Kyrgios after his U.S. Open defeat and they agreed it was best for him to miss the match against Britain, which starts with Friday’s singles. Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek beat favorites Paes and Rohan Bopanna 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to give the Czechs the edge.
“I was more concerned about my back”.
“It’s been absolutely incredible when I think back to how this team started against Turkey at Eastbourne”, said Smith.
Now Australia’s hopes potentially rest on Bernard Tomic as he is lined up to face Murray today.
“Davis Cup doubles over five sets can sometimes only rely on one or two points”, said Hewitt, who is featuring in his final Davis Cup campaign.
Kokkinakis, ranked 72 in the world, initially put up a decent fight on his own serve, rescuing several break points, but a wonderful return from Murray saw him break in the sixth game and he finished the set off with an ace.
“I didn’t feel great the whole weekend to be honest, I’ve been struggling with my back, but I just tried to disguise it. We’ve got everyone here – mother, father, wife, grandmother, mother-in-law, aunties and uncles”.
Argentina led 2-1 going into Sunday’s play, following Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer’s doubles win over Darcis and Ruben Bemelmans. An Argentina victory would see a scramble to find a venue in the United Kingdom , a month before Christmas, that can meet the 12,000 capacity that is the minimum requirement for the final.
But British Tennis confirmed that Evans was in the squad for the Glasgow encounter along with doubles experts Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot. However, Murray recovered and with Tomic serving to send the set into a tie-break, the Brit found himself with three set points.
The first two sets were split with a break apiece, and things were looking bleak for the home side at 4-1 down in the third.
But the home hero will have to do it twice more if Great Britain are to make it through to the country’s first final in 37 years.
Advertisement
Davis Cup rules state though that if a tie is decided after the fourth rubber [if one team has an unassailable 3-1 lead] then the fifth dead rubber will not be played, unless both teams decide otherwise.
