Kyle Edmund stepped into the role of Andy Murray and took holders Great Britain into the semi-finals of the Davis Cup by beating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in straight sets in the first of the reverse singles on Sunday.
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The final rubber was played out, with Janko Tipsarevic beating James Ward 6-2 3-6 7-5 to make the overall score 3-2.
Per DavisCup.com, Tsonga hit 20 winners in the third set alone to further demonstrate his hold on the afternoon’s action.
France have also added their name to the next stage of the competition after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Jiri Vesely in four sets.
But Edmund kept his nerve and rallied from 2-4 down in the tie-break to win five of the final six points and book Great Britain a semi-final berth against Argentina.
Wimbledon doubles champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert had beaten Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday to give France a 2-1 lead.
Clay hasn’t been the most successful surface for British players over the years, yet Edmund has excelled in his early years on the crushed red brick.
On his first match point, Lajovic drove a backhand wide, and Edmund collapsed to the clay in celebration before being embraced by his team-mates.
The aggressive right-hander then battled through from 30-30 on his own serve but was unable to claim another break and two set points.
However, Edmund had to survive a third set wobble when he served for the match at 5-4, only to be broken for the first time.
Britain will now play Argentina at home in September as they aim to keep alive their hopes of defending the title they won in Belgium a year ago.
It was a rather different Sunday for the world number two, who seven days after winning Wimbledon found himself sitting in conditions more typical of a Scottish summer as he cheered on Edmund.
The Czech rising star began well to take the first set 6-4, but was unable to match his opponent thereafter. This was the first time that GB have won a World Group match-ie since 1981-without the nation’s No1 player.
The 21-year-old from Beverley was given the responsibility of being Britain’s No 1 player in only his second tie after Murray pulled out. “He’s getting better and better and physically he is so much stronger this year”, said Smith, who has won 14 of his 16 Davis Cup matches.
Afterwards, Edmund said: “When you’re out there you are so in the moment”.
Unable to take advantage of two break/set points, Edmund confidently served out the second set – keeping his composure well at the partisan crowd.
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(AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic). British fans celebrate after their team won their Davis Cup quarterfinal tennis match against Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, July 17, 2016. I’ve been at a lot of ties, on the bench, hitting. The chances are, however, that with the semis following the Rio Olympics and the US Open, they will surely this time play on hard courts for the first time.
