Davis Cup 2014: GB lead 2-0, as Murray backed by heroic Ward comeback

It seemed appropriate, somehow, that for Great Britain’s return to the World Group they should be pitted against their oldest, indeed their original, adversary. For the Davis Cup began its life 114 years ago as a contest between GB and the USA.

Since then, the USA has played 100 times and GB 103 times, and the tournament has grown into one of the biggest sporting events in the world, comprising 122 nations.

But when these two nations came together for the 19th time in San Diego this weekend, it looked as though the home nation may once again have the edge, just as they had done since GB’s heyday in the 1930s. Not only had Great Britain failed to win a World Group tie since 1986 but they had not won the Davis Cup since 1936—with the man whose name has weighed heavy on the shoulders of British men’s tennis ever since, Fred Perry.

However, with Andy Murray slated to play three of the rubbers, this turned into a rather more winnable tie. The American No6 seeds, boasting the likes of John Isner and Sam Querrey in the singles and the Bryan brothers in the doubles, was not an insurmountable force, and once Isner pulled out with an ankle injury, things looked even better for GB.

Murray was expected to beat Isner’s replacement, No79 Donald Young, and he did not disappoint. The Wimbledon champion dismissed Young with impressive ease, offering up only two break points in the match. It was done and dusted, 6-1 6-2 6-3, in little more than an hour and a half.

The second rubber, though, looked set to level the tie when the USA’s higher seed, No49 Sam Querrey, took on the 179-ranked James Ward.

Ward had helped GB return to the World Group with a five-set win over Dimitry Tursunov when the team came back from 0-2 down against Russia last April. What’s more, the Briton had beaten Querrey in their only previous meeting, at Queen’s in 2011.

Sure enough, Ward again rose to the occasion, though at two-sets-to-one down and 2-4 down in the fourth set, the odds looked very much in the American’s favour. The tall Querrey has a big serve that Ward was finding hard to pick up. However, the Briton finally broke not once but five times to win 10 of the last 11 games, claiming a gutsy victory, 1-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Now holding a 2-0 lead over the USA, and with Murray the hot favourite to beat a tired Querrey in the reverse singles on Sunday, team captain Leon Smith may opt to rest Murray in the doubles. The Bryan brothers should have no trouble taking the point, whatever pairing they face.

So GB are now within touching distance of the World Group quarter-finals. In fact, Murray’s win over Young marked a significant milestone: It was the first time since 2002 that the team had won a live rubber in a World Group tie. On that occasion, Tim Henman beat Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden in the first-round.

It’s a position that was not lost on Murray: “I’ve never started a year in Davis Cup where you can actually win the competition, so this year it’s obviously a little bit different. Every time I’ve played I’ve enjoyed it; I’ve played well. This is the 17th singles match I’ve won in a row.”

Of course, Murray has twice matched the achievements of the Briton whose ghost has hovered over British tennis since that last Davis Cup victory. He became the first to win a Grand Slam and the first to win Wimbledon since Perry. Even for Murray, though, the hopes of matching Perry’s Davis Cup success are slender, despite Ward’s brave involvement. And the draw ahead lays bear the scale of the task.

GB’s next opponents will be either Argentina—playing this week without an injured Juan Martin del Potro—or the solid team from Italy topped by No15 Fabio Fognini and No31 Andeas Seppi. The two nations stand at a rubber apiece.

Should GB make the semis, their most likely opponent looks set to be Switzerland who, with two Grand Slam champions in the line-up for their tie against a depleted Serbian team—Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer—also have a 2-0 lead with a near-guaranteed third point in the reverse singles.

In the other half, the French team looked a real powerhouse in taking a 2-0 lead over Australia. Always a major presence—France has won nine titles before—they can draw on five top-30 players and, in No9 Richard Gasquet and No10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, they possess title-winning potential yet again.

Not that the French draw is an easy one. As expected, the Spain-Germany tie proved to be a high-quality affair. The German squad of No12 Tommy Haas, No27 Philipp Kohlschreiber and No29 Florian Mayer always looked a tough nut for a below-strength Spain—missing Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo—to crack and so it proved. Kohlschreiber surged past Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets, before Mayer fought off a terrific comeback from No27 Feliciano Lopez in the match of the weekend so far: 7-6, 7-6, 1-6, 5-7, 6-3.

In the top quarter, defending champions the Czech Republic faced a feisty Netherlands, with Robin Haase pulling back a two-sets-to-one deficit to take the first rubber over Radek Stepanek. Tomas Berdych, as expected, levelled the tie with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 win over Igor Sijsling, but this one could come down to the doubles.

The winners will meet either Canada or Japan in the quarters. With their two top players, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, injured, Canada has left the door open for Kei Nishikori’s country. The No18-ranked Japanese man can claim much of the credit for their 2-1 lead over Canada, having won his singles and doubles rubbers.

USA (6) v Great Britain
Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, California, USA: clay outdoor
R1: Andy Murray bt Donald Young
R2: James Ward bt Sam Querrey v
Saturday 20.00 GMT
R3: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan v Andy Murray/Colin Fleming [or Fleming/Dom Inglot]
Sunday 19.00 GMT
R4: Sam Querrey v Andy Murray
R5: Donald Young v James Ward