Davis Cup: Andy Murray beats Thanasi Kokkinakis, Great Britain in finals
British professional tennis player Andy Murray defeated Australian Bernard Tomic in the semi-final clash of the Davis Cup to send Great Britain through to the finals for the first time since 1978. With this victory, Great Britain took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the 5-match series against Australia.
Murray won the match comprehensively in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth tie to send Britain through. His side will face Belgium away in the final of the Davis Cup which is to be played at the end of November.
After the win, Murray said, “Winning for your country and your team-mates means such a lot. The crowd were unbelievable from the first ball to the last. I didn't feel great the whole weekend to be honest. I've been struggling with my back, but I just tried to disguise it,” as BBC reports.
The last time Great Britain won the Davis Cup was way back in 1936 with a team led by Fred Perry.
He executed it perfectly today: Leon Smith
Leon Smith, captain of the Great Britain tennis side said, “He's quite good isn't he? It's pretty amazing watching Andy's work over the whole weekend, he fights so hard and he's got the quality. He executed it perfectly today."
The World number three was in no mood to let this chance to create history slip away and started the match by playing some offensive tennis. He broke the Aussie in the 12th game of the 1st set to take a 1 set to 0 lead in a 5-set match.
After winning the first set, Murray went on a roll and demolished his Aussie opponent in the next two sets, taking the 2nd set 6-3 and the third 6-2 for a comfortable victory.
It was said that Murray might have a injury scare after the doubles victory with his partner Jamie Murray. But later on he told that it was his back that was troubling him.
The Englishman added, “I was more concerned about my back, which has given me a lot of trouble this week, the few days before the tie as well. I felt fine through all of New York and then took a break for five or six days. Sometimes after you've played a lot of tennis, when you do then take a break, the muscles and everything tighten up. When you come back, you can have some issues, so maybe it was to do with that."