Brit of grit as Andy leads victory over plucky Dutch
GREAT Britain made a winning start to the new look Davis Cup with a tense 2-1 triumph over the Netherlands in which Andy Murray snatched victory from the brink of an unexpected defeat.
Murray had to dig deep to win the opening singles match, coming back from the dead to beat 179th-ranked Tallon Griekspoor 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) after trailing 4-1 in the third set and by the same scoreline in the tie break.
The former world No.1 said he ‘didn’t deserve’ to win in Madrid but showed his famous fighting qualities in spades, conjuring up some remarkable defence.
He said: ‘I’ve found a way to win matches many times in my career when I’ve not been playing well. You can draw on that a little bit. I came up with some really good defensive shots at the end of the tie-break.
‘It is about finding a way to win. I’m proud of myself because it would have been easy to have lost that.’
Urged on by a sizeable British contingent, the Scot admitted he was carrying ‘four or five kilos’ more than he would like after taking some family time after wife Kim gave birth to Teddy, their third child. ‘I told you guys I wasn’t feeling in the best shape coming in, and it showed a little bit in the match,’ said Murray.
‘The weight and things like that, that’s my fault. I’ve never had that in my career before. Something as you get older you need to keep a closer eye on. I won’t put myself in that position again.’
Given he also seemed to be battling a cold, Murray may miss today’s match against Kazakhstan, with Kyle Edmund waiting in the wings.
Murray’s victory became even more important when Dan Evans was beaten 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 by Robin Haase to send the tie to a deciding doubles rubber.
That also proved to be a tight affair, but Murray’s elder brother Jamie and Neal Skupski got the job done with a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer.
Today’s match, which starts at 10am, will be a stern test, with the Kazakhs having top-100 players in Mikhail Kukushkin and Alexander Bublik.
Victory will send Great Britain to the knockout stages whereas defeat will leave them hoping to be one of the two best second-placed teams.