Great Britain and Belgium will face off in the Davis Cup final after each nation secured semifinal wins. The Brits wrapped up their tie vs Australia after Andy Murray defeated Bernard Tomic 7-5 6-3 6-2 to send them to their first final since 1978.
Great Britain, Belgium to meet in Davis Cup final
Andy Murray commented after the match, “Reaching the final is a big achievement and something that hasn’t been done for a long time. Everyone in the team should be very proud of that”. On the prospect of reaching the final, he added, “I probably thought about it more before the match today than I did when I was on the court. Once I was out there I just tried to play each point and fight as hard as I could. I wasn’t really thinking about history or anything like that. I was just concentrating on the points.”
Andy won all 3 points this tie, teaming up with brother Jamie to defeat Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt in doubles on Saturday after defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis to kick off the semifinals on Friday.
Belgium advanced to their first final since 1904 by rallying from 2 matches to 1 down when David Goffin defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-2 6-1 and Steve Darcis lifted the Belgians to the championship round with a 6-4 2-6 7-5 7-6(7-3) victory over Federico Delbonis. Leonardo Mayer, the Argentine #1, was unable to play due to fatigue after nearly 8 hours of play over the first 2 days.
Goffin mentioned the pressure of playing for his country on the eve of the final-day matches. “But,” he added with the hint of a grin, “it’s a good pressure.” And he dealt with it impeccably. “If you can keep your head when all about you. Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…”
This is the first meeting between the two countries since 2012 when Great Britain was victorious 4-1 in Glasgow in a zonal playoff tie. The final will be played November 27th-29th in Belgium.
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