Davis Cup final: British hopes lie with Murray ahead of Belgium clash

Both sides focused on tennis despite fears in wake of Paris attack

GHENT: Belgium host Britain in the Davis Cup final in Ghent this weekend in a matchup no one expected and an atmosphere no one wants.

The picturesque Flanders city is just 55 kilometres from Brussels, still reeling from the fallout of the terrorist attacks on Paris that killed 130 people and injured hundreds more.

Both teams, though, are in Ghent and saying that, despite all the fears and anxiety, the focus is fully on tennis and making history.

Amid security concerns: British Davis Cup team set for final against Belgium

Britain are seeking their 10th Davis Cup win in all, but first since 1936 when Fred Perry ruled the roost. Belgium’s only previous appearance in the final came 111 years ago when they lost to what was then the British Isles.

The central figure in the Friday-to-Sunday clash at the 13,000-capacity Flanders Expo is undoubtedly British number one Andy Murray.

Ranked second in the world, he has been the inspiration behind his country reaching the Davis Cup final for the first time since 1978, winning all eight rubbers he has played — six singles and two doubles — against heavyweights United States, France and Australia.

Murray is on a crash course to get himself adapted to playing on indoor clay after a week spent on a hardcourt in London for the World Tour Finals.

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But the 28-year-old Scot said he was confident he would be up to scratch by Friday.

“To win the biggest team competition in tennis, having beaten the other three Grand Slam nations, I think it would be a huge victory for everyone in the team,” he said. “It would be well-deserved, as well. It’s taken five years [to get here].”

Belgium’s astonishing run into the final had much to do with good fortune and three home ties.

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In the first round they came up against defending champions Switzerland, but neither Roger Federer nor Stanislas Wawrinka elected to play.

In the next round, Canada’s top two players were both missing through injury and they then edged a mediocre Argentina side 3-2 in the semis.

Home hopes rest with their top player David Goffin and number two Steve Darcis both taking points off the second British player, possibly 20-year-old debutant Kyle Edmund, and also winning the doubles.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th,  2015.

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