Should they do so, victory for the British number one over Belgium’s top seed David Goffin on Sunday would hand Britain its first Davis Cup title since 1936.
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“The third set was tricky after missing a few chances early on and he started going for his biggest shots when the new balls came out”, he said. “I was dominating the first two sets”.
The best-of-five tie takes place over three days, with Andy and Jamie Murray set to team up in the doubles on Saturday. “It’s obviously a good situation for them when they’ve already gone one up, they can put out a player and just say, “Go for it”. Literally I had no idea about either of the warnings because you can’t hear anything on the court.
“I didn’t hear any of the warnings because it was very loud between points”.
The experienced Murray was in no mood to let this occasion get to him, despite an increasingly raucous Belgian crowd that cheered, shouted and, when asked to quieten down, made hushing sounds instead-almost as distracting.
Tennis Channel will provide exclusive live coverage of Britain’s and Belgium’s Davis Cup final competition in Ghent, Belgium this weekend, beginning Friday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Van Herck said: “Okay, there was noise, but there will always be noise. I don’t feel like they crossed the line”, the world number two said.
Edmund settled what must have been significant nerves by saving two break points in a 12-minute opening game, and soon it was obvious just how much Goffin was feeling the pressure.
Murray traded breaks with Bemelmans in the first set before winning four of the final five games to take the opener. His sterling year on the ATP Tour has seen him climb to second in the world rankings, the highest he has been ranked at the end of a season in his career.
“I believe we can win the tie, obviously, otherwise there would be no point in us being there”. I knew I had the game to beat him and I was playing well enough. So that’s probably why I was upset at the end.
Belgian captain Johan Van Herck pleaded with the German match referee in the third set not to penalise his team for the reaction of their fans, which is a potential penalty available under ITF rules. You’re playing for your country, you’re playing for your team-mates.
No Davis Cup final debutant has won a live rubber but it was also a step into the unknown for Goffin, who had never come back to win from two sets down before.
With David Goffin beating Kyle Edmund in the first match, the final is now guaranteed to be decided on Sunday. He was really aggressive with his forehand.
“I was a little bit anxious because Kyle was playing unbelievable”. I tried to stay calm, to manage it very well. He and his brother Jamie will now aim to give Leon Smith’s side an advantage in the doubles against a Belgian team which at the moment is Steve Darcis and Kimmer Coppejans, but could be changed up until an hour before the start. “People expected me to win the match, and that’s what I did”.
Edmund held to love in the second after Goffin could only find the net on his return. He has a lot of weapons.
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“I don’t think it’s as important as in some of the ties”.
