Davis Cup final 2015: Kyle Edmund's brave bid to give GB a flying start against David Goffin ends in tears

David Goffin (BEL) beat Kyle Edmund (GBR) 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0

Kyle Edmund reacts after suffering a five-set loss to David Goffin in the Davis Cup final (Getty Images)

For the best part of an hour and a half it seemed too good to be true – and so it proved to be. When Kyle Edmund, the world No 100, won the first two sets here today against David Goffin, the world No 16 and Belgium’s best hope of success in this Davis Cup final, the 20-year-old Briton appeared to be on the brink of one of the most sensational debuts in the competition’s 115-year history. Within another 90 minutes, however, Edmund’s day ended in tears as Goffin won a match from two sets down for the first time in his career.

Edmund, who had played five sets on only one previous occasion in his career, blamed his 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 defeat, after two and three-quarter hours, on “tiredness and cramp”. However, his physical issues were probably as much a manifestation of the mental pressures he was under.

David Goffin celebrates victory over Kyle Edmund in the Davis Cup final (Getty Images)

For a player who has only ever won two tour-level matches and has spent most of this year competing in front of sparse crowds on the Challenger tour, this was quite an introduction to the world’s biggest annual team competition in any sport. Since the abolition of the Davis Cup’s challenge round, only five other players have made their debut in the final – and none has won a match.

“My legs just started to get tired,” Edmund said. “I could just feel them straining a bit. My legs started cramping a bit. I just lost a bit of confidence in my movement. Pushing off every time I was serving and landing, it was just getting really tight. Obviously it affects your mind.”

He added: “In the third set he started to get on top of me. Then things started to fall away. In the fourth and fifth sets I was struggling physically. It was just disappointing that my body couldn’t hold up the way I would have liked it to.”

For the first two sets, nevertheless, Edmund had done a superb job of keeping his nerves in check and focusing on the task in hand. After saving two break points in an opening game that lasted 12 minutes, he quickly settled into a beautiful rhythm, hitting his forehands, in particular, with enormous power and striking huge winners from the back of the court.

To rapturous, if incredulous, cheers from the British supporters, Edmund raced into a 5-0 lead, had a point to win the first set 6-0 and then held his nerve when Goffin fought back to 5-3. After closing out the first set with an ace, he took the second even more convincingly, winning six games in a row.

Kyle Edmund is congratulated by Great Britain captain Leon Smith (Getty Images)

Goffin, who had appeared particularly nervous at the start, was enduring an ear-bashing from his captain, Johan van Herck, at every changeover and looked as if this was the last place in the world that he wanted to be. However, just when he appeared to be melting away as quickly as a Belgian chocolate in an oven, he suddenly rediscovered his form.

Two breaks of serve saw Goffin go 4-1 up in the third set, and although Edmund broke back in the next game that was effectively his last significant contribution. As Goffin struck the ball with the sweet timing that is usually one of his trademarks, Edmund started to move much less freely and his game grew increasingly ragged.

After Goffin won 14 of the last 15 games, the Belgians celebrated in appropriate fashion as a tearful Edmund sat slumped in his chair with his head under a towel.

Kyle Edmund's team-mates cheer him on during his Davis Cup match against David Goffin (Getty Images)

“I was very upset,” Edmund said. “You’re doing something you love, it’s your job, it’s something you do every day, you put a lot of time and effort into it, so you take it very seriously and you become emotionally attached to it.

“I was dominating the first two sets. He couldn’t get near me. He turned that, and that’s something I need to learn from. Obviously I’m disappointed that I couldn’t do it for the team, but I think it’s one of the most important experiences I’ll have.”

Goffin said that Edmund had played “an unbelievable first two sets” but added: “I knew it’s always tough when you are young, when you’re playing your first match in Davis Cup, to play three sets like this. It’s always tough. That’s why I tried to stay calm and waited for my chance.”