Davis Cup: Andy Murray puts Great Britain into final

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Highlights: Murray win puts GB into final

Andy Murray took Great Britain through to a first Davis Cup final since 1978 with victory over Australia's Bernard Tomic in Glasgow.

The British number one secured his third point of the match, and an unassailable 3-1 lead, with a comprehensive 7-5 6-3 6-2 win.

Britain last won the Davis Cup in 1936, with a team led by Fred Perry, and will face Belgium away in November's final.

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Andy Murray 'proud' of Davis Cup history

Dan Evans lost 7-5 6-4 to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final rubber.

Belgium reached their first final in 111 years when Steve Darcis beat Argentina's Federico Delbonis in four sets in a deciding fifth rubber in Brussels.

The final will be played from 27-29 November, with every likelihood that the home side will choose a slow clay surface to try and neutralise Murray's strengths.

Reaction to Britain's win

Andy Murray on BBC TV: "Winning for your country and your team-mates means such a lot. The crowd were unbelievable from the first ball to the last. 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."

GB captain Leon Smith: "He's quite good isn't he? It's pretty amazing watching Andy's work over the whole weekend, he fights so hard and he's got the quality. He executed it perfectly today."

What a turnaround

Britain were on the verge of relegation to Zone Group III, the lowest level of the competition, in 2010 but they will now be seeking their 10th title and first since 1936 in November's final.

Late call-up Dan Evans: "I'd be at home watching if I hadn't been a part of this tie. I'll probably never get to experience something like this again. It's been so good coming in, and the boys have made me feel really welcome."

James Ward, who was left out of the singles, when asked if he'll be in the team for the final: "Hopefully. I've got to go away and make myself the obvious choice. It's been a stressful few days so it'll be nice to get home and have a few days off."

Murray secures victory in style

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Murray has played 25 singles matches in his Davis Cup career

It always seemed unlikely that Murray would let a chance to make history slip away after Saturday's thrilling doubles victory, and the Scot completed the job in another raucous Glasgow atmosphere.

Australia captain Wally Masur had chosen to stick with Tomic, his number one player at 23rd in the world, for the fourth match.

Murray had won both previous contests against the 22-year-old, but the Davis Cup brings its own unique pressure and he betrayed signs of nerves when failing to serve out the first set.

He made up for it with another break of serve in the 12th game, however, urged on by most of the 8,000 watching as he sealed the set with a nerveless drop shot.

Former Davis Cup finalist John Lloyd on BBC Two

"Tomic is a world-class player but Murray made him look average. He took his legs away from him by getting so many balls back and that exhausted him. There was nothing Tomic could do."

With the tension released, Murray began to strike the ball off the ground and on serve as he had in his demolition of Thanasi Kokkinakis on Friday.

The world number three's defensive skills were proving an offensive weapon too, with brilliant scrambling helping him to break for 3-1 in the second set as a bewildered Tomic netted a smash.

Unable to find a way through the wall across the net, Tomic dropped serve to love early in the third, and Murray then began to show off the full repertoire of aces, winners and drop shots.

A fifth break of the afternoon was secured to give him two chances to serve out the match, and he only required one, taking Britain back to the final when a Tomic return flew wide.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Britain's Andy Murray celebrates with the rest of his team and members of the support staff

Murray comes through back trouble

There had been some concerns Murray might struggle a little after Saturday's doubles, but he revealed afterwards that it was actually his back which was the worry.

The 28-year-old had surgery in 2013 to correct a long-standing problem, and he explained that this was not a recurrence of that issue.

"I was more concerned about my back, which has given me a lot of trouble this week, the few days before the tie as well," said Murray.

"I felt fine through all of New York and then took a break for five or six days. Sometimes after you've played a lot of tennis, when you do then take a break, the muscles and everything tighten up.

"When you come back, you can have some issues, so maybe it was to do with that."

Great Britain 3-2 Australia

Friday's singles results

Andy Murray beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 6-0 6-3

Dan Evans lost to Bernard Tomic 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Saturday's doubles result

Andy & Jamie Murray beat Lleyton Hewitt & Samuel Groth 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4

Sunday's singles

Andy Murray beat Bernard Tomic 7-5 6-3 6-2

Dan Evans loses to Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-5 6-4

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