Opening-set stroll works against Brit
ALMOST. Very nearly. But not quite the real thing. Bring the Davis Cup to Glasgow and you virtually guarantee a degree of drama. Without Andy Murray to draw a capacity crowd and — more importantly — carry the team through the contest, however, there are few other certainties. Ask Cameron Norrie, the young man asked to fill the biggest shoes in British tennis by playing as the team No1 here. Fans whipped into a frenzy by Dan Evans, the comeback kid himself, winning a barnstorming five-setter against Denis Istomin were agog with anticipation as ‘local hero’ Norrie made his home debut last night. Yet the South African-born New Zealander with the extremely Scottish dad let his big chance slip. Two sets up against a 20-yearold who had never won a Davis Cup singles rubber, he just fell apart. That only hundreds, rather than thousands, stayed to the bitter end to witness his downfall against Jurabek Karimov at the Emirates Arena was no consolation. Norrie, who gets the chance to make amends against Istomin tomorrow, said that winning the first set to love had actually worked against him last night, explaining: ‘I feel like winning a set 6-0 is detrimental against a guy who is decent. ‘He came back. He was just more “clutch” than me and executed better than me. ‘But that loss did hurt a lot because I’m not just playing for myself, I’m playing for my team. ‘I’ve got another chance to get a win on Sunday. I have to try to forget this as quickly as possible.’ Norrie’s five-set loss was made doubly disappointing because it followed an absolute thriller. Evans, just months into his return from a one-year ban for cocaine use, taking down Istomin in five sets was as enjoyable as sport gets. Even with the venue only three quarters full, the volume and energy of the crowd during four hours-plus of action brought to mind some of the great days and nights here. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t up there with James Ward beating American star John Isner on a famous Friday night so raucous that the tennis crowd occasionally seemed more like a boxing mob. But Evans, who was playing in qualifiers at a Challenger Event in Scotstoun Leisure Centre as recently as April, more than stirred the senses with a performance of guts and skill. And the supporters absolutely loved him for it, roaring his victory with a gusto belying their limited numbers. All is forgiven, clearly. The official crowd yesterday was pegged at just over 4,700, roughly 70-odd per cent of capacity. Weekend ticket sales are slightly higher but against unglamorous opposition in a relegation play-off that holds no actual threat of relegation… it was never going to pack ’em in. Organisers knew they were up against it, of course, from the moment Murray withdrew. The few who braved the din of some truly horrific pre-match entertainment were at least treated to a sighting of Our Andy, albeit only on the big screen. They responded to that. Then they threw everything behind Evans, who started like a man inspired — and dragged the crowd along with him through a spectacular show of guts and glory. The Englishman’s victory over Uzbekistan No1 Istomin had absolutely everything you could ask for in a Davis Cup contest. Including just a hint of aggro over a late line call. Oh, this was building nicely. As the diehards retreated towards the bars to refuel and refresh, making the most of the 15-minute interval before Norrie emerged into the spotlight, there was definite potential to be one of those nights. With Runrig’s Loch Lomond being belted out during Norrie’s knock-up with Karimov, the top-ranked Brit here was clearly inspired. Yet he couldn’t convert that 6-0 first set skoosh — ask yer da’, Cammy, he’ll explain — and handy two-set lead into a win. The crowd drifted away as chances slipped through his fingers, sensing the loss of momentum and choosing an early night ahead of pig-headed obstinance. They’ll be back today, for Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot in the doubles. And plenty will turn up in hope, if not quite expectation, tomorrow. The one certainty? Drama.