Great stuff. And given how well Edmund, Murray and Britain’s doubles players are performing right now, it’s hard NOT to believe that Britain are on course to defend the Davis Cup title they won previous year…
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Canadian Raonic, ranked seventh in the world, reached his first grand slam final at the All England Club on Sunday, losing in straight sets to Andy Murray.
Jack Sock got the hosts off to a rousing start as he stormed back from two sets down to defeat former US Open champion Marin Cilic 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
The Scot said: “He didn’t (play well) but I think it might help him because he had to fight very hard to get games on the board and get any type of momentum. When you know what is at stake – I’m so pleased that I’ve won”, said the world number 67.
Trailing to a mini-break at 2-4, the young British star reclaimed it with interest and took the rubber on his first match point as Lajovic hit wide.
Although Serbia were severely weakened by the absence of Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki, this was Britain’s first win at World Group level without Murray since 1986 and, coming away from home on clay, represents another hugely notable achievement for captain Leon Smith’s men.
At the draw on Friday, Tipsarevic was named in Serbia’s doubles team along with Nenad Zimonjic to take on Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot.
‘It’s impossible to say how far but the way that he plays on this surface – Lajovic is good, and Kyle dominated that entire match, and he’s only going to get better, on this surface in particular.
Once more the weather chose to be the third player in this tie, as a persistently flimsy drizzle came down – not heavy enough to halt play but certainly enough to make the conditions extremely challenging.
Edmund, clearly tired as well as a touch overwhelmed, was naturally proud of his performance: “Friday I won my first match for my country, and this is the second, and the fact that I put together two good performances, I’m really happy”. “I feel I did the best I could under the circumstances. I’m happy I regrouped and won in the tie-break”.
The Drina marching song made an reappearance in a bid to gee Lajovic up at the start of the second set but the Edmund forehand that he had feared was winding up well.
“He’s improved so much physically”.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, in Belgrade to support his team-mates after deciding the schedule was too tight for him to play, led the cheerleading from the sidelines.
It was a rather different Sunday for the world number two, who seven days after that glorious day at the All England Club found himself sitting in conditions more typical of a Scottish summer.
The Brit’s serve was also immaculate and he didn’t face a break point in the entire first set, but perhaps the most impressive element of Edmund’s game was his mental resolve which rarely flickered on such a huge stage.
Argentina held a 2-1 lead heading into their tie with Italy on Sunday and wasted little time in booking their spot in the semi-finals.
“He’s still going to get a lot more out of his serve as the years go on”.
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He won 10 straight points in breaking Ward at love and holding at love for a decisive 3-1 lead in the third set. “When I’ve seen him in the past I thought his movement could be the difference in him getting to the top”.
