Hewitt and Sam Groth were the heroes against Kazakhstan. A venue has not yet been decided for the semi-final, but it is likely to be indoors on a slower hard court than the outdoor grass. Simon had been playing very well lately, with a quarterfinal finish at Wimbledon.
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Great Britain’s Andy Murray (bottom) and Jamie Murray (top) in action during day two of the Davis Cup Quarter Finals between Great Britain and France at the Queen’s Club, London.
“Both of them will be fairly fresh going in, it will be a tough match…” I didn’t care how I played, I just wanted to win the match today and that’s what I did.
Yet for all the camaraderie of the British camp, it came down to Murray and his strength of will to tip the tie his side’s way by the end. That was enough for him to take the break and the set.
Murray’s win against Gilles Simon ensured Britain’s first Davis Cup success against France – the 2014 finalists – since Buster Mottram and John Lloyd led a 3-2 victory on the clay of Roland Garros in 1978.
Andy Murray demonstrated all too evidently how strongly he supports the cause this year, playing himself nearly to a standstill at one stage against Gilles Simon in the return singles, before ultimately clinching the match by three sets to one.
Already at over two hours, fans were surely questioning whether Murray could sustain this recovery. Jaime, with his world doubles ranking of No. 20 and a recent runner-up finish in the men’s doubles at Wimbledon, led the way and played some inspired tennis to grab the win after dropping the first set. But Simon was not done either and broke back with two net attacks. Murray, upping the pressure on Simon, forced the issue with aggressive play to create a break point. The set then remained on serve until game number nine, when the 2012 United States Open champion and Davis Cup stalwart hit a forehand victor crosscourt and followed it up with a quite sensational lob that had Queen’s rocking. He now had growing signs of momentum, energy, and pace, while Simon began to looks drained.
That proved the turning point. “You don’t get opportunities like this very often”.
Murray wrapped up victory when a Simon backhand flew wide and, after leaping about the court with a Union Flag in hand, the Scot was unable to hold back the tears as he embraced captain Leon Smith. You could say that they deserve it because of how great a job they did there. It was good to let it out. “And that’s what I did”, Murray said right after to Eurosport’s Annabel Croft. I just tried to win the match and managed to turn it around.
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The home supporters were anxious in the first set, though, as a stunning forehand down the line earned Simon a break of serve for 2-1.
