TENNIS – Andy Murray rallied from a set and a break down in the Davis Cup quarter final match against last year’s finalist from France to edge Frenchman Giles Simon 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 6-0 to earn the British team the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time in 34 years. Australia fought back from 0-2 down to edge Kazakhstan 3-2. Diego Sampaolo
Murray gave the home team the 3-1 lead on grass at the Queen’s Club where he won the ATP 500 title last June. The Scotsman won his match against Jo Wilfred Tsonga 7-5 7-6 (12-10) 6-2 after saving three set points to bring Great Britain level to 1-1 on Friday and the doubles match with his brother Jamie with 4-6 6-3 7-5 (7-1) 6-1 over Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut. In the opening match on Friday Simon beat James Ward 6-4 6-4 6-1
Great Britain has reached the Davis Cup semifinal for the first time since 1981. The British team will play against Australia on 18-20 September.
Simon hit a forehand winner down the line to break serve for 2-1 Simon hurt his knee in a fall but he served out the set after saving two break points. Murray went down a set and a break and came close to losing the second set after losing a hard-fought 35-shot rally but he recovered to break back to draw level to 4-4 and forced the set to the tie-break. Simon took a 4-1 lead in the second-set tie-break but Murray fought back with a backhand and two volleys to reel off five of the next six points to earn a set point at 6-5 before clinching the set with a big serve after 74 minutes.
Murray hit a big serve to seal the set before taking a 3-0 lead in the third set with a double break. Simon broke back but Murray broke again for 5-3 en route to 6-3. Murray broke early in the fourth set for 2-0 to cruise to 6-0 in the fourth set after three hours and 26 minutes. Simon received treatment on his left ankle after slipping on the court.
“The whole weekend has been fantastic. This team has done amazing things. We are punching above our weight here. We are in the semifinals of the biggest competition in tennis. I am just proud to get here and hopefully we can do well against Australia next September. It obviously feels unbelievable to get through that. It wasn’t looking great in the second set. I just managed to find a way and used up all my last ounces of energy. We went through a period where we had Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski were two top-ten players and we never won a World Group match, so that shows you how difficult it is to do”, said Murray.
Lleyton Hewitt beat Aleksander Nedovyesov 7-6(2) 6-2 6-3 to give Australia the decisive 3-2 point against Kazakhstan. Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were replaced by Australian captain Willy Masur with Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth after losing the first two singles matches on Friday. The decision paid off at the end. Groth beat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(6) after the Kazakh player did not convert set point in the second and the fourth sets in the two tie-breaks.
Hewitt teamed up with Sam Groth to win the doubles match on Saturday over Andrey Golubev and Aleksander Nedovyesov with 6-4 7-6(4) 6-2 before earning the Australian team the two decisive points which enabled Australia to come back from 0-2 down to take a 3-2 win.
It was the first time since the 1939 Davis Cup final against the United States in 1939 that Australia has rallied from 0-2 down to win a match in this event. Australia returns to the Davis Cup semifinals after nine years.
“I have said some of the greatest wins have been in Davis Cup and some of my toughest losses”, said Hewitt
Belgium has reached the semifinal for the first time since 1999. Ruben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans beat Daniel Nestor and Adil Shamasdin 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-3 in Ostend to earn Belgium the 3-0 lead.
Belgium will play against Argentina at home. The South-American sealed a 3-0 win against Serbia after Carlos Berloq and Leonardo Mayer cruised past to 6-2 6-4 6-1 over Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki
