It’s fair to say that Great Britain and Australia have enjoyed wildly differing levels of success in the Davis Cup over the last few decades. The recent tie at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena was GB’s first appearance in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup since 1981. By comparison, Australia had reached this stage of the competition fifteen times over the same time-span.
But things have certainly changed a great deal over the last few years, thanks largely to Andy Murray’s thrilling heroics and wonderful performances by Jamie Murray, James Ward, Dan Evans and Dom Inglot. Great credit should also go to the superb captaincy of Leon Smith, who has established a wonderful spirit and belief in the team.
So it was with great optimism and excitement that I headed to Glasgow for the tie against the Aussies. We were within touching distance of the final and I knew that the atmosphere was going to be electric, with thousands of British fans cheering on each and every point. The noise in the arena was incredible and undoubtedly helped the team a great deal.
The first match on the Friday saw Andy Murray taking on Thanasi Kokkinakis, a match in which Andy ultimately triumphed with ease, coming through 6-3 6-0 6-3. It was the perfect start for Great Britain.
The second match of the tie saw a reversal of fortunes, with Bernard Tomic triumphing over Britain’s Dan Evans 6-3 7-6(2) 6-7(4) 6-4. Despite ultimately losing, Dan played some great tennis in this match and at several stages looked set to make a dramatic comeback.
As is so often the case in Davis Cup ties, Saturday’s doubles proved to be crucial in determining the outcome of the tie. The reality staring at us before the match was simple: Win the doubles and we would most likely be through to the final. Lose it and the Aussies would be the clear favourites.
I think it’s fair to say that this match did not disappoint! Andy and Jamie Murray once again produced some absolutely stunning tennis to take a nail biting match against Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-7(6) 6-4. We were just one win away from the final!
When we arrived in the arena on the Sunday it was once again down to Andy to finish the job. We all knew that his opponent Bernard Tomic is a world-class player, however the odds definitely looked stacked in our favour and there was a real sense of excitement and optimism amongst the crowd. Andy passed the test with flying colours, comfortably dispatching Tomic 7-5 6-3 6-2. We were through to the final!
So… It’s now just over a month until the tie in Belgium and I honestly still can’t quite believe that we have come this far. The possibility of GB winning the Davis Cup was almost unthinkable just a few short years ago, however we now find ourselves heading into the final as the bookies favourites to come out as champions. Whilst it certainly won’t be easy, I really believe that we can do it.
To all the players and everyone involved with the team… Thank you and good luck in the final. Let’s do this!