DOUBLESTANDARD
Murrays beat Argentinian pair to keep hopes alive in Davis Cup
ANDY Murray and Juan Martin del Potro have both warned that anything could happen on the last day of the Davis Cup semi-final due to their bodies feeling the strain of two exhausting matches.
With Great Britain trailing 2-1, the two dominating players have played eight hours already and Del Potro offered hope that he might yet be vulnerable after being unexpectedly fielded as Argentina lost the doubles yesterday.
‘Of course I feel some things that are bothering me in my body but that’s normal,’ he said. ‘I didn’t expect to play eight hours. Hopefully I can finish the weekend healthy but if I have another long match I could be at risk.’ Asked if his troublesome wrists were giving him pain he replied: ‘Legs, wrist, back, shoulders.’
Andy Murray, who will play first today against Guido Pella, also looked weary at times before he and brother Jamie emerged victorious 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Del Potro and Leonardo Mayer to keep alive home hopes of a second straight Davis Cup final.
‘I’ll give it my best effort tomorrow, whether I win or not I don’t know,’ said Andy. ‘But I can guarantee I will give it my best effort to win and it will make it interesting if it goes to the fifth rubber. I am not going to be the fresher of the players going into the match. I will be tired and I have to accept that and deal with it.’
Britain need to win both of today’s singles and captain Leon Smith admitted that he already has a firm idea of who he will pick for the last match and, while he was not giving anything away, the odds are that it will be Dan Evans rather than Kyle Edmund. Smith hopes he may be able to take advantage of any Del Potro weariness. ‘It does mean he [Evans] has a few more hours in his legs, so if we can get that point in the first match then it’s up to whoever goes out in the second to make him [Del Potro] work as hard as possible,’ said Smith. ‘It’s clearly going to be difficult. Argentina have put themselves in the driving seat, but when you have Andy and Jamie put out a performance like that, it gives everyone a lift.’ Jamie admitted attending his grandfather’s funeral on Friday had made the week difficult: ‘It has been a tough week for us but you just have to try and park it and focus on what we needed to do. It’s one of those things you go through in life.’
There was some surprise that Argentina picked Del Potro to play yesterday instead of resting him, but there was no dissent between him and captain Daniel Orsanic.
Argentina must remain favourites to win the tie thanks to the presence of Del Potro, even though his twoday workload was taken over the eight-hour mark yesterday.
The Murrays came out to the now trademark frenzied welcome from the Glasgow crowd packing out the Emirates Arena. For Jamie it was his first time back on public show since winning the doubles at the US Open, and his buoyancy was evident from the off.
Andy did not initially look to be hindered by his exertions during Friday’s singles defeat to Del Potro and was sharp enough to hold his first serve and then contribute to the breaking of the Argentine to make it 4-0 and effectively seal the set. When that was done after only 26 minutes it appeared unlikely to be a taxing afternoon.
However, in New York and Glasgow there have been signs of Andy being in severe need of a break, and these surfaced again in the second set on his first service game. It is highly unusual to see him capitulate on serve but that rarity came to pass when he was broken to love.
The break appeared to particularly fire up Mayer, whose returns and passing shots became a big factor in the visitors firing back to take the second set 6-3.
The Murrays gnawed away at their opponents in the third, but could not convert their chances. Andy’s frustration boiled over and he was given a warning for an audible obscenity.
Four break points had gone begging when Andy was broken again for 3-4. But the Murrays suddenly conjured up two straight breaks, the first coming when Mayer netted a backhand. At 5-4, Del Potro was broken to love to finish the match.
In the other semi-final, Croatia are 2-1 up against France. Should GB win today — and the chances are against it — then a final against Croatia would be in the UK at the end of November. An unlikely final against France would be away.