(November 27, 2015) Great Britain’s Andy Murray evened the Davis Cup final at 1-1 on Friday in Ghent with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win over Belgian’s Ruben Bemelmans. The world No. 2 rebounded from 2-4 down the third set to close out the match against the world No. 108.
The first match of the day saw top Belgian player David Goffin win his first–ever match coming back from two sets down to defeat No. 100 Kyle Edmund 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0. Edmund was making his Davis Cup debut.
The Davis cup rookie ran up a quick two set lead over Goffin, over powering the Belgian with well-placed shots and aggressive groundstrokes.
The turning point in the match came in third game of the third set when Goffin broke Edmund’s serve for 2-1. The No. 16 player in the world won 16 of the next 18 games to claim the victory. Edmund let errors creep into his game and was not as consistent with his serve as he was in the first two sets.
“He played every forehand really heavy from the beginning,” Goffin said on–court after the match. “It was tough for me to find my timing on the baseline. I knew I needed to take my chance, and I did well to finish the match quickly in the fourth and fifth sets.”
Edmund said that in the fourth set he was having problems physically and that his stamina did not hold up.
Murray who leveled the tie with his win in the second match of the day in the Flanders Expo, is now 7-0 in singles rubbers this year. Only John McEnroe and Mats Wilander have ever been a perfect 8-0 in ties during a David Cup season.
Saturday will see the doubles rubber played between Belgium and Great Britain.
Belgium’s King Philippe and his wife, Queen Mathilde, were part of the 13,000 in attendance at the Flanders Expo in Belgium.
Belgium is seeking its first Davis Cup, while Great Britain wants to claim its 10th.
DAVIS CUP FINAL
BELGIUM level with GREAT BRITAIN 1-1
Venue: Flanders Expo, Ghent (clay – indoors)
David Goffin (BEL) d. Kyle Edmund (GBR) 36 16 62 61 60
Andy Murray (GBR) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 63 62 75
Kimmer Coppejans/Steve Darcis (BEL) v Andy Murray/Jamie Murray (GBR)
David Goffin (BEL) v Andy Murray (GBR)
Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) v Kyle Edmund (GBR)