Murray was an integral part of Great Britain’s 3-2 victory over Australia, winning three matches in three days to set up a final meeting with Belgium after they defeated Argentina by the same scoreline to reach their first Davis Cup final in 111 years.
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Having been troubled with a back problem as well as a dodgy stomach earlier in the week, Murray failed to drop a set against Thanasi Kokkinakis on Friday during a contest that lasted less than two hours.
A Murray staple, an immaculate top spin lob to within inches of the baseline, did the damage on break point and Tomic could only net.
But the 28-year-old revealed that a back injury sustained in training last Tuesday had been a cause for concern throughout the tie.
“The previous issues I’ve had with my back have been completely different”.
“We came here and laid it all on the line again, did all the preparation”. I felt fine through all of New York and then took a break for five or six days.
He has committed to playing only in Shanghai on the Asian swing and had already abandoned the fledgling ITPL competition that was a lukewarm success past year.
It is a remarkable turnaround for a British team that have risen from being on the verge of relegation to Europe/Africa Group III in 2010 to being finalists in 2015.
Andy Murray could lose more than £1million if he skips the year end championships to prepare for the Davis Cup final, a move that could put him into conflict with ATP chiefs. ‘And I bet their wives haven’t got such pretty hair either’. “Hopefully I can do the same for the rest of the weekend”.
“But at least fight like hell for it. We can talk about this a lot but those guys have to go out and earn it”. “We knew it would be an incredibly hard match to win, Australia have great depth and experience”.
The next day, Mayer did not play against No. 15 David Goffin, who swept his way past Diego Schwartzman to set up the fifth and deciding match where Darcis performed his heroics.
“There are no guarantees but reaching the final is a big achievement, something that hasn’t been done for a long time, and everyone in the team should be very proud of that”.
“It’s incredible that he was able to go out and play all three days, it really is”. It’s like the 1966 World Cup for England.
“It is a great honour”. Nearly predictably that is precisely what happened, as Lleyton Hewitt’s final Davis Cup appearance ensured no easy victory for the Brits.
“I’d say I probably thought about it more before the match than I did when I was on the court”, said Murray of the prospect of making history in Glasgow.
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“The O2 would obviously be a question mark for me if we were playing on the clay”.
