Playing his first match since becoming a father, Andy Murray beat Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to give Davis Cup champion Britain a 1-0 lead against Japan in the opening round of its title defense on Friday. Kei Nishikori defeated Dan Evans 6-3 7-5 7-6.
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Daniel dug a little deeper in the second set, Murray this time having to wait until the seventh game before reeling off back-to-back breaks for a two-set lead on the hour mark.
A rattled Murray sends an overhead into the tape, and out of nowhere, he’s got a break point to fend off. Which he duly does with a big first serve.
He said: “The last few weeks have been the best of my life, really special”, he said.
But the world number two broke for 4-3 and then clinched the set with a fortunate clip of the netcord.
Daniel saved a set point to avoid the dreaded bagel but Murray served it out with only 28 minutes on the clock.
His serve in particular worked very well and kept a lot of the points short, while he struck the ball well – although Daniel did not entirely agree. “Statistically I’ve played by far my best tennis when I’ve played for Great Britain”.
Murray felt his main rustiness was in the mind, admitting he let his concentration slip after his flying start.
He continued: “If someone tells you ‘don’t think ahead if you get up early, ‘ you think ahead – that’s what happens!”
“Obviously when I’m away from the court my thoughts are back home and trying to speak to Kim as much as possible, stay in touch, but it’s not easy being away for the first few days when she’s so young”. I was getting a bit out of breath.
The tie could well come down to the first of the reverse singles on Sunday between Murray and Nishikori, which will certainly not be a similar stroll.
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot make up the British team and were nominated to play in the doubles rubber tomorrow, although Andy Murray could step in.
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He said, after the match: “A couple of double faults really hurt my motivation when I went into the court, and that made me really nervous”.
