30 November,2015 08:32 AM IST | | AFP
Great Britain wins Davis Cup for first time in eight decades as 2013 Wimbledon champ Andy Murray beats Belgium's David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the first of the reverse singles for an unbeatable 3-1 lead
Britain's Andy Murray (centre) celebrates with teammates after his win over Belgium's David Goffin to win the Davis Cup final in Ghent, Belgium yesterday
Ghent (Belgium) Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years in Ghent yesterday when Andy Murray defeated David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the first of the reverse singles for an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Belgium.
Britain's Andy Murray (centre) celebrates with teammates after his win over Belgium's David Goffin to win the Davis Cup final in Ghent, Belgium yesterday. Pic/AFP
It was a fitting climax for the 28-year-old Scot to provide the winning point, having won all 11 rubbers he played in during the campaign as the British defeated heavyweights United States, France and Australia before the clincher against Belgium.
Handy Andy
The win over Goffin made him just the third player, after John McEnroe and Mats Wilander, to win all eight singles in the same calendar year since the Davis Cup World Group started in 1981. And it underpinned Murray's place in tennis history following his headline-making wins in the 2012 US Open and Olympics, and at Wimbledon the following year.
The match-up of the two national number ones came after both had won their opening singles on Friday and Murray had teamed up with brother Jamie the following day to defeat Goffin and Steve Darcis in the doubles. It was do or die for Goffin and Belgium against the world number two who had yet to drop a single set against the 16th ranked Belgian in previous games.
But it was a tense and edgy start from both players in front of a raucous 13,000 capacity crowd at the Flanders Expo centre where a claycourt had been laid down in an effort to blunt Murray's firepower.
It was the World No 2, though, who landed the first blow, breaking the Goffin serve to love in the sixth game and that proved enough for him to take the set 6-3 in 48 minutes on his fourth set point.
The second set turned out to be the key to the final. Murray held serve with ease, while Goffin hung on grimly. The Belgian somehow moved out into a 5-4 lead and with the decibel level rising again as the crowd scented blood, Murray needed to serve to stay in the set. But he did that with some ease and then in the next game, the Scot stepped up the pressure once again and got the break he needed as Goffin netted a forehand drive.
Goffin had only once in his career come back to win after losing the first two sets of a match and that was in Friday's opening rubber against Kyle Edmund. Goffin, though, had not given up the cause and he raised home hopes with his first break of serve in the second game of the second set. But the revival was short-lived as Murray broke back immediately and three games later the Scot supplied the 'coup de grace' with a break to love to lead 4-3.
