Andy Murray Leads Great Britain Davis Cup Winners and Losers
Great Britain’s Davis Cup miracle was completed when Andy Murray ended a tough match over Belgium’s gritty, skilled David Goffin.
The Scot released a backhand lob that floated like a dove, alighted into the corner of the ad court and finished a remarkable year of rising from Davis Cup obscurity to clay-court paydirt.
Murray fell to the ground but quickly picked himself up from his British teammates to congratulate Team Belgium before getting picked up by Brits as he let out a roar. The world No. 2, via ESPN, called it "the most emotional I've been after a match."
This from a Wimbledon champion who broke that drought in his home nation. This from a superstar with two major titles, a gold medal and a decade of tennis excellence.
This is a special “winners and losers” edition devoted to three days of remarkable action in Ghent, Belgium, where the hosts and their red-clay surface capped off remarkable runs by two scrappy teams and one defining superstar.
Winners: Crowd Support
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There were concerns of terrorism coming into the Davis Cup final at Ghent, but nothing would deter the boisterous Belgian fans.
They brought their enormous head cutouts featuring Davis Cup players David Goffin, Steve Darcis and the rest of the team. They hissed when Andy Murray served. They did everything they could to represent European tennis fanaticism, and it was a fantastic show of support for their country and the sport.
The British had fewer, but enough passionate rooters crossed to mainland Europe with their dark-blue attire, flags and “Back the Brits” placards. They were clearly important supporters in lending their energy and enthusiasm for their historic victory.
Terrific event from both sides.
Loser: Kyle Edmund
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We’re not going to be too hard on Britain’s 20-year-old Davis Cup debutant, Kyle Edmund. After all, James Ward likely would have been a straight-set statistic at the hand of world No. 16 David Goffin in the first rubber of the Davis Cup.
So all was going perfectly for Edmund, up two sets (6-3, 6-1) after dominating Goffin with his forehand. Then it all fell apart.
Maybe it was the realization or sudden nerves or the inexperience in realizing that he was playing a road match in the final. For sure his second serve was feeble, and when his legs weakened, he could no longer get to balls with decent mobility.
Goffin tore him apart in the last three sets 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
It’s fair to question Edmund’s fitness with the cramping and fatigue that occurred. It should not be excused. Chris Bowers of Tennis Reporters questioned if Edmund is fit enough to play five-setters, and he cited Edmund's physical problems (strained stomach muscle) earlier at the French Open. Edmund won his first-round match in five sets, but even a day off was not enough for him to take the court in the second round against Nick Kyrgios.
Expect better things from this young tennis talent in the future.
Winner: Jamie Murray
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We documented the kind of pressure and expectations that Andy Murray has faced during his championship career. For elder brother Jamie, this had to be more unnerving.
Jamie has worked his way up to being rated the No. 7 doubles player in the world, although the top singles players really do not figure much in these rankings due to their singles commitments. This year, his rise has coincided perfectly with Great Britain’s astonishing ascension in Davis Cup.
Adding to the equation is playing with his superstar younger brother. If they lose, the blame could be affixed to Jamie more readily, especially given the shaky start that he had on Saturday’s doubles match. He struggled to hold serve, he was sliding a awkwardly on the clay and he missed on his returns.
But as the third and fourth sets rolled on, Jamie settled down. He held on after his 0-40 serve in the epic game of the fourth set when he and Andy eventually fought off seven break points and kept their break for the match’s duration.
Nobody was more relieved than Jamie when he and Andy hugged. You could hear the excitement in his voice in the postgame interview. His job was over, and he could feel the emotion and satisfaction of doing his part with brother Andy. He was a huge factor.
Loser: Belgian Captain Johan Van Herck
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There is always second guessing when decisions do not work out, but Belgian captain Johan van Herck really opened himself up to scrutiny with his surprise selections.
On Friday, he tapped their third-best singles player, world No. 108 Ruben Bemelmans, to take on Great Britain’s star player and world No. 2 Andy Murray.
Now it’s not as if anyone expected either Bemelmans or their second-best player Steve Darcis to win that match, but the veteran Darcis can play an attacking game at net and force Murray into a different retrieval game. Maybe he gets a set.
It had even bigger ramifications for Saturday’s doubles.
Apparently, Darcis was to be fresh to play doubles in tandem with their best player, world No. 16 David Goffin who rarely plays doubles but is a skilled singles player, especially on clay.
It was a particularly desperate move because Goffin has won only two of his career 15 doubles matches, and Darcis is not much better at 21-34 career and one of seven in Davis Cup competition.
Bemelmans was a part of the Davis Cup doubles team that defeated Switzerland and Canada. He also had experience in the loss to Argentina with Darcis.
Most of all, Belgium was asking Goffin to play three straight days. He survived a five-setter on Friday, lost the doubles four-setter on Saturday and could have used fresher legs to take on weary Murray for Sunday's reverse singles.
Should Van Herck have used Darcis for singles and Bemelmans with Kimmer Coppejans for doubles? We’ll never know, but we do know with hindsight that these early moves, especially for Saturday’s critical doubles loss to Great Britain, did not work out.
Winner: Andy Murray in Doubles
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What else can you say about Andy Murray? Like all superstars, singles tennis is their priority, and Murray’s 62-65 doubles career record is fairly typical. This year, he finished 7-6 in doubles play, and one loss occurred against brother Jamie and John Peers at the Canada Open.
But those Davis Cup doubles wins were everything.
Murray teamed with brother Jamie to help them get by France in July’s quarterfinals. They teamed for a semifinal win against Australia. They won the crucial doubles encounter against Belgium. Each time, it was Andy’s steady returns, hustle and leadership that bolstered their team.
Belgium tried to avoid Andy at times, but he kept his feet on clay and lifted Jamie while they struggled through a second-set loss. After match point sailed away for Belgium, Andy and Jamie had their most important brotherly hug.
Andy will never play or win a doubles match this huge again. The Davis Cup was on the line three times in succession and Andy simply would not lose.
Loser: Steve Darcis
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Steve Darcis once defeated Rafal Nadal in the opening round at 2013 Wimbledon. His game is best suited on grass where he can keep the ball low and come into the net with his offensive attack. So giving Darcis the hook for the opening singles rubber was not completely shocking.
His play on Saturday’s double’s loss, with David Goffin, cost Belgium a chance at victory. Darcis was exploited left and right, and Britain’s Jamie Murray, playing with brother Andy, finally outlasted him when it became apparent that the vast majority of balls were going to be hit at Darcis and Jamie.
Time and again, Jamie hit slice serves to Darcis’ backhand or kickers to the middle of the court, but Darcis usually came up empty. It allowed the Murrays to pull out the crucial fourth game of the fourth set. Belgium only converted three of 13 break points while Great Britain captured six of eight opportunities.
Should Belgium have put Darcis in the deuce court so that Goffin could take the wide backhands? This was the rubber that they had to win, and Darcis went flat.
Winner: Andy Murray in Singles
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Murray was not perfect. He got warned and rung up by the chair umpire for some choice words in his opening singles match against Ruben Bemelmans, and it might have cost him a half hour of extra match time, according to Chris Bowers of Tennis Reporters.
Still, Murray had plenty of stamina left for doubles and a tough three-setter to clinch the Davis Cup against David Goffin.
It’s another historic achievement for the world No. 2. Like superstars Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, Murray is now a Davis Cup winner. Unlike the others, Murray carried a much greater load winning all eight singles matches and three doubles matches. This was almost all due to Murray.
We’ve seen Murray win the biggest titles in tennis including 2012 Olympic gold medal in London, 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon. Chalk this latest achievement as one of his personal “big four,” but maybe the most remarkable considering that Great Britain was buried in Davis Cup purgatory five years ago.
No superstar is immune from criticism, but Murray proved once again that he is a winner. He is unafraid to compete or lose. He showed the kind of courage that few stars possess, let alone be willing to ride through for one of the greatest surprise titles in Davis Cup.
He was "the man who couldn't lose," wrote Steve Tignor of Tennis.com. Murray's honest understatement was included in that article: “It’s incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn’t know that would ever be possible.”
Murray did this all in a month that began with a tough week and final loss in Paris. He trained on clay before showing up to battle three superstars at World Tour Finals matches on indoors courts.
Somehow, Murray took a few days of rest and all of his team’s pressure to lead them to victory. What a story.
Winner: James Ward
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One more important assist here. Who remembers James Ward’s monstrous singles victory in the first round?
Ward upset America’s huge serving machine, No. 11-ranked John Isner. Without that victory, Great Britain probably does not move on because any combination of British doubles teams, Andy Murray included, was likely not going to defeat Bob and Mike Bryan, perhaps the greatest doubles team in history.
As it was, Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray did battle the Bryans to five sets, but there’s no proof that Andy Murray and Jamie would have won. Probably not.
Ward’s upset was all the more remarkable given that he had to battle back from a two-sets deficit and prevail in the fifth set 15-13 against a man with an unassailable serve who knows a thing or two about marathon matches.
All hail, James Ward. Without you, this Davis Cup run may not have ever been launched.
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