Murray Draws Tie Level On Day One Of Davis Cup Final

Andy Murray made sure Great Britain ended day one of the Davis Cup final level at one match all, after beating Belgium’s Reben Bemelmans in straight sets.

Britain looked like they were heading for an unlikely 1-0 lead when Kyle Edmund, on his Davis Cup debut, went two sets up against the world number 16 David Goffin, but was eventually outlasted by the Belgian.

There were no such problems for Murray who, despite a tough third set against an inspired opponent, dispatched Bemelmans 6-3 6-2 7-5 after 3 hours of play.

Andy Murray in action
(Picture from i.guim.co.uk)

He and his brother Jamie will take to the court in tomorrow’s doubles rubber against, most likely, Bemelmans and Steve Darcis, as Britain bid to win the competition for the first time since 1936.

Murray had never faced the left-handed Bemelmans prior to this match and took the Briton a little while to adjust to his opponent’s unpredictable style.

Bemelmans did his best to unsettle Murray in the early exchanges and used a variety of astute drop shots and clever angles to keep the Brit off-guard.

However when it comes to cat and mouse exchanges there are few better in the game than Murray, and the Briton quickly turned the tables with some shrewd tennis of his own.

A single break of serve in the opening set was enough for Murray to take it in 34 minutes; even so the Belgian continued to play above his ranking of 108 in the world, which made for an entertaining encounter.

The score line remained one-sided in the Brit’s favour, but the second set took a prolonged 47 minutes.

Still that didn’t dispirit the Belgian who, to Murray’s frustration, broke the Brit’s serve for the first time in the match mid-way through the third set.

Murray received a point penalty from umpire Albert Ramos for letting out his frustration which was largely caused by Bemelmans’ powerful forehands and high risk tennis.

Murray broke back immediately but faced a set point at 5-4, which his opponent fired long. The Brit also came up against a hostile Davis Cup crowd who did their best to disrupt the world number two.

It took three hours of play but at last Murray go the job done and can now turn his attentions to tomorrow’s pivotal doubles match.