Ruthless Murray guides Britain into Davis Cup final
the difference between the sides.
‘‘Andy was like a locomotive this weekend,’’ he said.
‘‘I think you walk away from those ties and say: ‘Where do we need to get better?’ and ‘What do I need to improve?’. I think Andy showed our boys.’’
Murray praised the crowd, saying it had lifted his performance.
‘‘Winning for your country and your team-mates means a lot. The crowd were unbelievable from the first ball to the last,’’ Murray said.
‘‘I didn’t feel great the whole weekend to be honest, I’ve been struggling with my back, but I just tried to disguise it.’’
The win set up a showdown with Belgium, who made the final after a thrilling Steve Darcis comeback sealed their first Davis Cup final appearance in more than 100 years.
The hosts had trailed 2-1 overnight but world number 15 David Goffin crushed Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-2 6-1 levelled things up and then Darcis, roared on by home fans in the Forest National, fought past Federico Delbonis 6-4 2-6 7-5 7-6(3).
Darcis had squandered two match points at 5-4 in the fourth set but after forging ahead in the tiebreak he powered away a smash to end the contest and was immediately mobbed by his team-mates who rushed on to court to celebrate.
Victory had looked a big ask on Sunday as Argentina won the doubles to take a 2-1 lead, but the failure of their number one Leonardo Mayer to take to court on Sunday against Goffin helped swing the tie around.
Belgium’s only other final, in 1904, ended in a 5-0 defeat by Britain.