Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury beat Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-3 7-6 (9-7) on the third match point after 1 hour and 32 minutes to seal Great Britain a 2-1 win over Belgium at the ATP Cup in Sydney. With this win Great Britain avoided an early exit after the defeat against Bulgaria in the opening tie.
Earlier today Steve Darcis beat world number 53 Cameron Norrie 6-2 6-4 after 72 minutes to give Belgium the 1-0 lead. Darcis, who is set to retire after the Australian Open, broke twice in each set to close out the match in 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Daniel Evans converted all his five break points in his 6-4 6-4 over David Goffin to level the tie to 1-1. Evans scored his first win over a top 20 player since he beat Nikoloz Basilashvili at Wimbledon last year.
Evans earned an immediate break in the opening game. Goffin broke back in the fourth game to 2-2. Evans broke twice in a row to open up a 5-2 lead. Goffin pulled one of the two breaks back in the eighth game. Evans served out the first set at love in the 10th game.
Evans went up a double break at the start of the second set to open up a 3-0 lead. Goffin pulled one of the two breaks back in the sixth game and earned a break point in the final game of the match. Evans converted his fifth match point as Goffin hit a forehand return wide.
“It was real tough out there. We said that we would come at me when it was tight. He is a world-class player. His quality started to show near the end”,said Evans.
The win over Belgium means that Great Britain goes into next Tuesday’s tie against Moldova with a chance to reach the knock-out stage.
