Davis Cup final: Andy Murray cools red-hot crowd to keep Britain on track for glory

Scot wins feisty match with Bemelmans in straight sets to complete first leg of expected hat-trick needed for Davis Cup

Andy Murray was broken in the third set but broke back twice to seal victory (PA)

Andy Murray has been the driving force behind Britain’s run to this weekend’s Davis Cup final and it was the 28-year-old Scot who kept his team on course here on Friday for their first victory in the competition for 79 years. After Kyle Edmund had agonisingly let slip a two-set lead in losing 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 to David Goffin in the opening rubber, Murray steadied the ship by beating Ruben Bemelmans 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 in a feisty encounter to leave the final against Belgium perfectly balanced after the first day.

The way the home team fought in the opening rubbers showed that nothing will be easy over the next 48 hours, but the stage is now set for Murray and his brother Jamie to take a firm grip on the tie in Saturday’s doubles.

How fitting it would be if the world No 2 went on to beat Goffin in the first of Sunday’s reverse singles to secure his country’s first triumph in this historic competition since 1936. By doing so he would repeat his feat of winning on all three days of Britain’s quarter-final and semi-final victories this summer and become only the fourth man to win 11 rubbers in a single Davis Cup year since the introduction of the World Group in 1981.

If Edmund was disappointed not to have completed what would have been a remarkable victory over Goffin on his Davis Cup debut, the 20-year-old may have made a crucial contribution by pushing the Belgian No 1 so hard. Johan van Herck, the Belgian captain, now faces the difficult decision whether to field his best player in this afternoon’s doubles, knowing that Goffin will have to face Murray on Sunday. Steve Darcis and Kimmer Coppejans are currently Belgium’s nominated pair.

Leon Smith, Britain’s captain, may have to make an equally tough decision on Sunday if the final goes to a fifth match, in which Darcis, the Belgian No 2 and a man who has never lost a deciding final rubber, should be fresh after being rested on Friday. Would Smith throw Edmund back into the cauldron or would he bring back James Ward, who has not been in the best of form recently but is a proven Davis Cup performer?

Edmund said last night: “Obviously I want to play every time for my country and I’ll give my 100 per cent, but it’s the captain’s decision either way.”

In terms of drama, excitement and passion, the final is already living up to all expectations. Only a tenth of the 13,000 crowd in the Flanders Expo arena were from Britain, but there were long periods on Friday when they accounted for more than half the noise. The visiting supporters came with drums, trumpets, horns and whistles and helped to create a red-hot atmosphere. It was hard to see any empty seats among the British contingent, which suggested very few ticket-holders had been put off by the terrorism fears that had some observers doubting a few days ago whether the final would even take place.

The clay court has been built in an exhibition hall that feels like a huge aircraft hangar. The roof actually fails to meet the criteria for an indoor court in that it is marginally too low, but having the back rows almost within touching distance of the ceiling helped to turn up the volume from a passionate crowd. The king and queen of Belgium were among them, while tennis royalty was represented by Kim Clijsters.

Murray faced an opponent he had never met before. Bemelmans is the world No 108, but like so many men of a similar ranking the left-hander has bags of talent. He did not lack confidence, as he showed with a regular flow of drop shots that frequently had Murray in trouble.

The Scot broke at the first attempt, only for Bemelmans to break back immediately, but the opening set turned when Murray broke again in the sixth game. The Belgian started the second set just as badly and this time could not respond in kind. Murray broke again to lead 5-2 and promptly served out to take a two-sets lead.

Bemelmans refused to lie down. With the home crowd appreciating their own man’s outgoing style and baiting Britain’s hero at every opportunity, the temperature was never far below boiling point. Early in the third set Murray was warned about his language and was then deducted a point for another outburst, while Soren Friemel, the match referee, stepped in to have words as Van Herck became particularly animated.

Attacking Murray’s second serve, Bemelmans broke the Scot, to huge roars from the crowd, in the sixth game of the third set. Murray broke back immediately, but at 4-5 he had to defend a set point, which he did with an unreturned second serve. It was probably a good job that the words Murray appeared to direct at the crowd were not picked up by any microphones.

In the next game Murray broke to love and after two hours and 24 minutes he served out for victory. In the Davis Cup this year Britain have won only one point – when Ward beat John Isner in the first round in Glasgow – when their talisman has not been on court. What odds that record being extended all the way until he delivers the final blows on Sunday?