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 a year ago…
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The 21-year-old British number two took the responsibility of guiding the defending champions through a tricky test in Belgrade with star player Andy Murray opting to watch from the sidelines following his Wimbledon-winning exploits a week ago and packed Olympics schedule to come next month.
The Britons beat Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4.
In both cases, only one rubber was played on Friday, in both cases it was the away team-Great Britain in the impressive shape of 21-year-old Kyle Edmund, and Argentina in the shape of Marrakech champion Federico Delbonis-who took the early advantage in heavy, gloomy conditions.
Members of the British team hug as they celebrate after having won their Davis Cup quarterfinal tennis match against Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, July 17, 2016.
Kyle Edmund’s 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win against Dusan Lajovic in the reverse singles on a wet and windy day at the outdoor Tasmajdan clay-court stadium gave Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five World Group quarterfinals.
Team captain Leon Smith picked out the Inglot serve as a key in the match.
To come out and win two best of five sets over three days is testament to the work he’s been doing.
“Constant pressure is what makes the Davis Cup a great competition and I dealt with it pretty well”, said Lajovic, the world number 81.
Murray and Inglot produced a vintage display to keep Great Britain’s interest in the Davis Cup strong after they defeated Krajinovic and Zimonjic to claim a one-match lead going into Sunday’s deciders. There’s no reason why he can’t get right up to the top of the game.
Having stunned everyone to win the trophy last September, with Murray to the fore, Britain are in the last four again and this time, Murray has help.
‘The level at the end of the match was excellent, very few unforced errors from both of them.
But yesterday, against an opponent playing at home, on his favourite surface, Edmund played flawlessly, pounding his forehand until Lajovic’s defences simply gave out. “When you’re out there you are in the moment and trying to win every point”.
Edmund was the highest-ranked player in the two teams at No. 67.
But Lajovic, who had won his earlier singles against James Ward in straight sets, at last showed his mettle to break back at the first opportunity. His forehand is so huge, such a great shot.
“They [Argentina] have a lot of strength in depth, a lot of Davis Cup pedigree, so it’ll be extremely hard, with [Juan Martin] Del Potro coming back”, Smith said. But he was very good today.
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“At the same time, there will be stuff that I feel I could have done better here”.
