Andy and Jamie Murray kept defending champions Great Britain alive in the Davis Cup semi-finals with a doubles victory over Juan Martin del Potro and Leonardo Mayer.
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Another 2hr 55 min on court at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena finally ended when the world No.2 hit the winning smash volley to the delight of a nervous home crowd.
With his side losing both of Friday s singles, it was no surprise to see British captain Leon Smith pick Andy alongside Jamie instead of Dan Evans as he opted for the pairing who secured victory in past year s final against Belgium.
For the first time all year, and all across the tennis map, Juan Martin del Potro’s resurgence might not even be the most interesting comeback story in town.
The Murray brothers came charging out of the gates sprightly enough and sitting down for the second change of ends they were leading 5-0 and looked invincible.
They had no troubles in service games, and their return game was a top notch as well, breaking Mayer in game 2 and del Potro in game 4 for a commanding 4-0 lead.
True, Andy Murray was also tired after Friday’s exertions – and there had been some doubt about whether he would participate – but there was a logic to the Wimbledon and Olympic champion playing doubles.
But the Argentine, ranked 64th in the world after being plagued by numerous injuries, refused to surrender and condemned Murray to only his third singles defeat in the men’s team competition after finishing off the marathon encounter with an ace.
The explanation for del Potro’s involvement perhaps owed something to the machismo sporting culture in which he was reared.
It prompted the biggest roar of the afternoon.
The must-win rubber for the holders in the worldwide team competition took almost three hours, putting Andy Murray’s court time over two weekend matches at eight hours. Their court sense helped close the third set.
“It was tough”, he said.
Edmund stepped up in Murray’s absence to claim two singles victories in the quarter-final defeat of Serbia in July, and he raced into an early 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to his impressive forehand before Pella recovered to take it to a tie-break.
Of course, it does not end there for the British no. 1.
Andy will take on Guido Pella in the first match on Sunday, where victory would send the tie into a decisive fifth rubber, probably between Evans and Del Potro. “From the first point to the last, the crowd was something else”. You can definitely guarantee I’ll give it my best effort to win.
“Obviously the ball bounces up high like on the clay courts and it’s lively, so when you play with heavy topspin, you know, it suits that style a bit here. It gives us momentum going into tomorrow’s matches”.
“It was a great atmosphere”, he said. I really enjoyed the match. “We are 2-1 down and it is a tough position to be in, but it is a better position that we were in at the beginning of the day and I still believe we can come back”.
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Captain Daniel Orsanic explained: “I thought that it was the best doubles we could go with”.
