Joining the Dunblane native on the British side are youngster Kyle Edmund (No. 100 Emirates ATP Ranking) and big-hitting Dominic Inglot (No. 23 Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking).
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Two years ago, Murray became the first Briton since Perry in 1936 to win the Wimbledon singles title, and now he stands on the verge of matching another of his predecessor’s achievements.
The buildup to the final has been overshadowed by the continuing security concerns in Brussels, just 35 miles from there the final will take place.
Edmund, nevertheless, comes across as a man with a wise head on young shoulders.
“It’s just exciting really”, said Edmund.
“The two nations played all the matches at home this year”.
“But my job is to give my best and give my all”. It’s a new experience for me.
The Yorkshireman, 20, has been handed the task of playing the opening match against Belgium No. 1 David Goffin.
The Brits are solid favorites due to world No. 2 Andy Murray, who will play two singles and partner with his brother, Jamie, in Saturday’s doubles.
Top tennis players tend to live in a bubble – they stay in the finest hotels, get chauffeured during tournaments and usually fly first-class. “It’s good to have options for Sunday”.
The spotlight is most often shone on Jamie’s brother, Andy, as the pair enjoyed doubles successes in the quarter-final and semi-final victories over France and Australia respectively.
Murray has nearly single-handedly dragged the team to a first final since 1978, which starts on Friday, and within touching distance of ending a 79-year wait to be crowned world champions. Asking Edmund to beat Goffin, the world No 16, may be asking too much but that is not what Smith and Andy Murray are demanding of the
debutant. “I think that it was always going to be a hard decision who started the weekend”, Smith said.
“I’m pumped”, said the Scot. “There’s nerves there obviously”.
“That’s really a positive thing”, he insisted.
“Try to get them on the back a little bit of the English – the Brits, if I have to be correct”. It’s obviously a big opportunity for all of us. I’m sure there have been cancellations but at the same time there are also people that are looking for tickets so it might be a chance for them to come. The experience I’ve had close to that is probably in Paris in my first round when I played a French guy in front of a loud French crowd. He played an unbelievable match there, but it’s different conditions here. At least his first task may have been made easier by Belgium’s team selection.
Bemelmans is only the third highest ranked of the Belgian players and the suspicion is captain Johan Van Herck may be saving number two Steve Darcis for the doubles and a decisive fifth rubber should it come down to it. Murray has featured in eight of the nine rubbers Great Britain has won this year.
“The weekend will be long”, van Herck said. Bemelmans, asked how he might beat Murray, smiled. “I think we have a clear plan and it’s up to me to execute this as well as possible”.
“I think maybe as a person it helps you”, Murray said.
Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund (right) poses with Belgium’s David Goffin after the draw for the Davis Cup final in Ghent.
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Britain was one of the founding members of the competition, when it began in 1900 initially as a head-to-head contest between Britain and the United States.
