Pity poor Kyle Edmund, who was one set away from beating the world No16 a couple of hours ago. A stirring effort from the 20-year-old, but he was outplayed by a superior player in the end. Belgium lead 1-0 and the pressure is on Andy Murray, who faces Ruben Bemelmans soon. See you shortly!
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David Goffin beats Kyle Edmund 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 to give Belgium a 1-0 lead!
After two hours and 44 minutes of perplexing tennis, Kyle Edmund is serving to stay in the match. He makes a good start, winning the first point, but Goffin moves into a 15-30 lead with a monstrous forehand. Edmund digs deep and forces it to 30-all - but then he gives Goffin the first match point when he nets a forehand. Goffin can’t take it, missing a backhand, but he earns another when a tired Edmund nets a backhand. And it’s done: Edmund drags a forehand wide. Goffin has fought back from the brink to put Belgium 1-0 up! You’ve gotta love the Davis Cup! The Belgium fans are loving it.
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Fifth set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 5-0 Edmund (*denotes server): Goffin makes a meal out of this game. It goes to deuce. But he still holds and he’s a game away from victory. It would be a shame if this ends with a bagel. Edmund doesn’t deserve to suffer that indignity after the way he played during the first two sets.
Fifth set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 4-0 Edmund* (*denotes server): Goffin is storming away with it now. He picks Edmund off with a forehand into the right corner for 0-15 and then he passes him brilliantly with a superb forehand from right to left, showing great speed to reach a backhand down the line. Goffin ekes out three break points as Edmund stretches and nets a volley. He takes the second, a blistering forehand forcing Edmund to slice wide.
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Fifth set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-0 Edmund (*denotes server): Nothing Edmund tries is coming off. When he attempts a commendable love at 30-0, his effort beats Goffin - and the baseline. Goffin thrashes a forehand volley away to hold to love.
Fifth set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 2-0 Edmund* (*denotes server): The game quickly goes south for Edmund, two unforced errors making it 0-30. They’re piling up and a limp double-fault makes it 0-40. Goffin take first, but he can take the second thanks to a backhand winner down the line. Can anything save Edmund now?
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Fifth set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 1-0 Edmund (*denotes server): A huge roar greets David Goffin as he walks to the baseline. But Edmund wins the first point of the match with the kind of forehand he was hitting in the first two sets! Another one makes it 0-30 and it’s the Brits who are jumping up and down now - but Goffin stays calm and wins the next two points, before grabbing a 40-30 lead with a huge forehand. He holds to 30 with an ace out wide.
Belgium's David Goffin wins the fourth set 6-1 to level the match!
Serving to stay in the fourth set, Edmund whips an ace away to make it 30-all. That’s better. Goffin then strikes an off-balance forehand into the net to make it 40-30, but he clips the baseline with a forehand for deuce. He’d like this set over as quickly as possible and Edmund gives him a set point with a timid forehand into the net. Another one into that pesky net has the rowdy Belgians behind me off their feet. We shall have a fifth set. Has Edmund got anything left in reserve?
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Fourth set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 5-1 Edmund (*denotes server): The British fans try to lift Edmund’s spirits when a Goffin error makes it 30-all. It’s tough for the youngster, though. Goffin’s class is shining through now and suffocating him, every glimmer of hope snatched away; an ace makes it 40-30 and Goffin holds. Edmund is spending a lot of time breathing heavily and looking at the floor.
Fourth set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 4-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): Edmund is fading. He wonks a forehand wide to make it 0-30 and he looks demoralised, although he makes it 15-30. Then comes another moment of net farce: Edmund nets a first serve and Belgium’s coach points out that the net appears to be unravelling. It needs more attention, which gives Leon Smith to try and boost Edmund’s sapping morale. Eventually play resumes, with the net still looking a bit low - and Edmund whistles a forehand wide. Here come two break points. The first goes begging. The second does not. Edmund nets. Goffin has a 4-3 record in five-set matches, but has never won a match from 2-sets down. That might change today.
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Fourth set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 3-1 Edmund (*denotes server): Goffin rattles an ace past a statuesque Edmund for a 30-15 lead. A big forehand from Edmund makes it 30-15, but Goffin then finds the line for a 40-30 lead and he consolidates the break with a classy backhand down the line. Goffin is firmly in control out there.
Fourth set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 2-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): The errors are flying off Edmund’s racket now. Two of them hand Goffin a 0-30 lead. He pulls a forehand wide to make it 0-40 and he’s broken when he slaps a backhand into the net. It’s taken two hours, but this now looks like the world No16 against the world No100.
Fourth set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 1-1 Edmund (*denotes server): At the moment - and these can change quickly - it feels increasingly unlikely that Edmund is going to win this match. Goffin holds to 15 and his level is getting higher.
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Fourth set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 0-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): This feels like a big game, one that Edmund desperately needs to win. He wins the first point - but loses the next two. He’s fortunate when Goffin nets a gimme of a forehand to make it 30-all. Edmund was a sitting duck. But not for long. He’s, er, a happy duck when he holds to 30. What a miss that was from Goffin at 15-30, though.
There’s a short delay before the start of the fourth set while some court attendants fix a problem with the net. They’re quite important in a tennis match. You can’t really play without one. Maybe they’ll have to call this off and award the match to Kyle Edmund.
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Belgium's David Goffin wins the third set 6-2; Great Britain's Kyle Edmund leads 6-3, 6-1, 2-6
A Belgian fan is holding up a giant David Goffin placard in the stands. He’s put a lot of effort into getting that - and it’s an image that’s reflected on the court, where Goffin is beginning to loom over Edmund. A tense Goffin drops the first point, but he rouses himself and earns two set points with a forehand winner. He follows that with a double-fault; there goes one. His serve has been a problem today, especially at big moments. Yet Edmund sends a forehand long and the third set belongs to Goffin. We could be going the distance. This feels like a very different match now.
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Third set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 5-2 Edmund* (*denotes server): Edmund can’t built on that break. He appears to be in control at 30-0, but he lets Goffin back into the game, netting a forehand and then a backhand. Aggressive play from Goffin brings up a break point and Edmund’s shoulders slump when he knocks a backhand wide. Goffin will serve for the third set.
Third set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 4-2 Edmund (*denotes server): Edmund made six unforced errors in the first 90 minutes. He’s doubled that within five minutes. That tells you where the balance of power lies at the moment. Yet Edmund shakes his head clear and begins to hit the ball cleanly again, storming into a 0-40 lead with a cracking forehand winner. Goffin saves the first, but then he nets a forehand. That’s one break back for Edmund, who has responded impressively.
Third set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 4-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): A moment of controversy at 15-all, a Belgian fan calling an Edmund forehand out during the point. Leon Smith, the British captain, isn’t happy and the point is replayed after a long discussion with the umpire. Edmund loses the point anyway, stiffing a forehand into the net, and Goffin carves out two break points with a wonderful forehand winner. Goffin wastes the first with a wayward forehand, but Edmund hands him the break with a poor backhand past the baseline. I suspect this set belongs to Goffin. He appears to have remembered he’s ranked 16th in the world.
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Third set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 3-1 Edmund (*denotes server): Have we just witnessed a turning point? Goffin would like to think so and he’s encouraged by a couple of edgy backhands from Edmund that give him a 30-0 lead. Another miss makes it 40-0 and he holds when Edmund’s attempted forehand pass down the line goes wide. Goffin has won three straight games and Edmund is in a bit of trouble for the first time in the match.
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Third set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 2-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): Having halted a seven-game losing streak, Goffin pumps his fist after winning the first point, wearing Edmund out with some wonderful shotmaking. Soon he leads 15-30 - but Edmund keeps him at bay with a forehand for 30-all, only for a mistimed backhand to make it 30-40. Edmund’s forehand betrays him for once and Goffin breaks! You didn’t think it was going to be straightforward, did you?
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Third set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-6, 1-1 Edmund (*denotes server): Goffin holds to 15 with an angry smash.
Third set: Goffin 3-6, 1-6, 0-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): The third set begins and David Goffin is going to need Djokovician powers of recovery to get himself out of this mess. Save for a few brief spells in the first set, he’s been all over the place. But this is also a test for Edmund. Will his nerve hold from here or will he tighten up as he begins to glimpse the finishing line? A double-fault at 30-15 is a dodgy moment. Yet he ends up winning the game by scrambling Goffin with a cute little drop shot.
Great Britain's Kyle Edmund wins the second set 6-1 to lead 6-3, 6-1!
The Belgian fans break out into a long, sustained chant of “David! David! David!” before the start of this game, realising that their guy needs all the help he can get at the moment. Edmund continues to boss him with that forehand, ripping one away for a 15-30 lead, and he claims two set points when Goffin’s backhand is diverted wide by an untimely net cord. Nothing is going right for Goffin, who promptly double-faults again! You’re not a nightmare, David, this really is happening. The second set flies by in 26 minutes and Kyle Edmund is a set away from giving Great Britain a 1-0 lead. No pressure, kiddo.
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Second set: Goffin 3-6, 1-5 Edmund* (*denotes server): Edmund is striking the ball so cleanly, with such pace and swagger. It’s wonderful to watch. Though he wants to be careful not to let his guard down. Goffin is easily good enough to turn this around, offering a reminder of that with an excellent backhand return down the line for 15-all. Edmund knuckles down on serve, though, and strides into a 40-15 lead. A boomer down the middle allows him to sail clear. He’s a game away from a two-set lead.
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Second set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-4 Edmund (*denotes server): Who knows where Goffin’s head has gone? This is turning into an ordeal for the home favourite. Two sloppy shots give Edmund a 0-30 lead, and then he sticks a backhand into the net to hand over three break points. Goffin finally finds his range with a forehand to save the first break point. Yet he does Edmund’s job for him with his second double-fault of the match! Edmund leads the second set by two breaks.
Second set: Goffin 3-6, 1-3 Edmund* (*denotes server): Forehand after forehand after forehand. This is staggering. Edmund holds to love. The only question at the moment is whether he can sustain this level for another set and a half.
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Second set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-2 Edmund (*denotes server): The first two points are shared, Goffin mixing it up with a forehand winner and a forehand error. Meanwhile Edmund is still spanking the fuzz off the ball with his forehand. He takes a 15-30 lead and then Goffin’s first double-fault of the match gifts Edmund two break points. Edmund zaps a nerveless backhand from left to right and Goffin misses with an attempt down the line! Edmund leads by a set and a break. Edmund leads by a set and a break. It’s not going to feel any more real no matter how many times you say it.
Second set: Goffin 3-6, 1-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): The court is playing pretty quickly for clay, which is helping Edmund, who raps a forehand away for 15-0. He holds to love thanks to some granite serving.
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Second set: Goffin* 3-6, 1-0 Edmund (*denotes server): “Time,” the umpire bellows, although Edmund sneaks in a few more seconds with Leon Smith before making his way to the baseline. He appears to have Goffin on the ropes at 0-30, but the Belgian wriggles clear and nabs the next three points. He holds with an accurate serve down the middle.
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Great Britain's Kyle Edmund wins the first set 6-3!
You can see the confidence draining out of Edmund’s body as he skelps a forehand long on the first point. Goffin is all over him at the moment. Edmund has an almighty escape on the next point, Goffin’s forehand clipping the net cord and landing on his side, but a duffed volley makes it 15-30. Where’s that forehand gone? He needs it now. Badly. And he finds it! Two stunners make it 40-30 and that’s ... that’s a set point! A second set point! Can he take this one? He can! And how! He blooters an ace down the middle and the first set goes to Great Britain! Oh me, oh my.
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First set: Goffin* 3-5 Edmund (*denotes server): But Goffin still has to hold here to keep the first set alive. Yet he’s starting to show why he’s the world No16. He holds to love and these are dangerous times for Edmund, who somehow needs to gather his thoughts and regain his focus.
First set: Goffin 2-5 Edmund* (*denotes server): A set point came and went in the previous game and Edmund doesn’t start well here, netting a timid forehand on the first point. Suddenly he’s missing his first serve and he finds himself down 0-30 when a backhand fizzes wide. The Belgian fans turn up the volume. Another first serve goes long and Goffin seizes three break points when Edmund nets a forehand. Edmund saves the first two, but Goffin wins the game with a pinpoint forehand. That’s one break back and two straight games for Goffin. Leon Smith is having a very urgent chat with Edmund during the changeover. There’s been a shift in momentum.
First set: Goffin* 1-5 Edmund (*denotes server): David Goffin is serving to stay in the first set. He’s looking rather pale at the moment. The first two points are shared, Goffin slipping and sliding at the back of the court, and a thunderous forehand from Edmund makes it 30-all. A replica earns him a set point. Yet to Goffin’s relief, he belts a forehand just past the baseline and the game goes to deuce. Goffin holds from there. He’s on the board at after 34 minutes. But Edmund will serve for the first set.
First set: Goffin 0-5 Edmund* (*denotes server): To quote my colleague Scott Murray, Edmund has the battle fever on! A string of splendid forehands sees him hold to love! All hail King Kyle, ruler of clay. He’s a game away from winning the first set without dropping a single game. This is incredible.
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First set: Goffin* 0-4 Edmund (*denotes server): The atmosphere in here is febrile; there’s a slightly different feel to, say, Wimbledon. Edmund is coping with it. I first saw him play two years ago, when he beat Kenny de Schepper at Eastbourne and secured his first victory on the Tour. His forehand was a fearsome weapon then and it still is now. He looks to be out of this game when he’s down 40-15, but he responds by dominating Goffin with his forehand, three consecutive points earning him a break point! Goffin sends a second serve into the Edmund forehand. He returns it with interest and a stunned Goffin can only send a backhand wide! Edmund turns to the British team with a steely look on his face and clenches his fist. He leads by two breaks! What on earth is going on?
First set: Goffin 0-3 Edmund* (*denotes server): The Belgian fans have fallen silent. They weren’t expecting this to happen. I’m not sure anyone was. Edmund suddenly has a taste for this! A booming ace makes it 30-0, then he unleashes a forehand down the line for 40-0, and he consolidates the break with a stonking serve. Well, this is going unexpectedly well, though there’s obviously a long way to go.
First set: Goffin* 0-2 Edmund (*denotes server): Edmund has never dealt with this kind of situation before. This is the biggest match of his short career and it would be understandable if he’s feeling nervous. I’m fairly certain I saw him almost cough up a butterfly during that opening game, but what grit he showed to hold. That should boost his confidence no end and he impresses at the start of this game, romping a forehand into the right corner to take a 15-30 lead. Then he grabs two break points when Goffin knocks a forehand wide. Can he take it? He can! He arrows a superb low backhand from left to right and a skidding Goffin can only direct a slice into the net! Edmund breaks!
First set: Goffin 0-1 Edmund* (*denotes server): It begins! The British fans opposite us are bouncing, the numerous Belgians are making a racket, and a hush descends as Kyle Edmund prepares to hit the first serve of the final. He rattles a big serve down the middle and Goffin’s return lands long. “Here we go!” chant the British fans. But progress stalls when Goffin makes it 15-all with a dainty volley at the net that gets the home fans off their feet. He’s a lovely player and a gorgeous backhand pass down the line makes it 15-30, Edmund easily picked off as he decides to approach the net. It wasn’t really the time to do it. The next point has to be replayed when a Goffin shot is incorrectly called long - that’s frustrating for the Belgian, who would surely have won the rally at the net, even more so when a netted forehand makes it 30-all, Edmund let off the hook for now. The game goes to deuce. Edmund moves closer to taking it with a forehand zinger, but he can’t pull clear and Goffin eventually earns a break point with a big forehand. This is a big moment and Edmund comes through with a big serve, before saving it with a second break point with another serve that Goffin whacks into the girders above us. The game passes the 10-minute mark and still Goffin won’t let up. This is getting absurd. After 12 minutes, an eternity, Edmund eventually decides he’s had enough and holds with another rammed serve.
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Tok! Tok! Tok! They’re knocking up! The opening match of the 2015 Davis Cup final will begin soon. Kyle Edmund is in a navy t-shirt and white shorts, while David Goffin is in a red shirt and black shorts. “Hope I don’t jinx it but Smith is a canny coach and captain and think Edmund will really be up for this,” says James Taylor. “Three nil. (Or should that be love?).”
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“I believe that we will win,” the British fans chant. Is their belief built on strong foundations? We’ll soon find out. David Goffin and Kyle Edmund are out on court and it’s time for the toss. No idea who won it.
This court is made out of Meccano. There’s an Ikea next door, which offers a clue.
The singers are bare-footed. Their skin is touching the hallowed clay of the Flanders Expo.
It’s time for the anthems. It’s not easy to stand and type one-handed.
We are being treated to some Belgian pop. It’s rousing stuff. Feel the rhythm, feel the beat. The conductor is really getting into it.
The British team is being introduced. Judging by the cheers, there’s a sizeable British presence in the crowd.
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5, 4, 3, 2, 1! The curtains come down, the lights come up, revealing the players on court! Where did they come from? What sorcery is this?
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“Who is your money on Jacob?” asks Ruth Purdue. In this match? Goffin. The tie overall? Britain, because they have Andy Murray.
I’m on court. It’s loud and it’s dark and the atmosphere is building. The court is currently shielded by curtains on all four sides. My laptop is also perched perilously on my lap and this is going to be the hardest live blog I’ve ever done.
I’ve heard that there was a bomb scare on the tram this morning and the service was suspended for a while. It’s been put down as a student prank. Some prank! The security around the Flanders Expo, which is next door to an Ikea, is heavy.
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This is touching, isn’t it?
When the Murray grandparents met the Darcis grandparents. Pre Davis Cup final bonding. #family pic.twitter.com/na887VTUvr
— judy murray (@judmoo) November 27, 2015
I’m still sitting in the press room, but the noise is immense outside. There are horns, there are chants, there are drums and you can hardly hear yourself think. There’s even music coming over the sound system. Imagine! The atmosphere is bound to be great out there. How will Britain cope with it? The good news for them is that I’ve spotted a lot of away supporters milling about in Ghent today, using my keen detective skills to do so (fine, they’re all wearing face paint).
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Preamble
Hello. For people who view history through the prism of sport, the first thing that comes to mind about 1936 is Jesse Owens winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, putting a fairly sizeable dent in Nazi Germany’s ideas about Aryan superiority. I’d like to say that the past is a different country, but it doesn’t really feel like that while I’m sitting in the Flanders Expo in the very beautiful city of Ghent, 35 miles or so away from Brussels, where life is gradually getting back to normal after the surreal events of the past few days. Still, let’s not bring the mood down. We’re here for the tennis, we’ll talk about tennis. The final goes ahead and history will be made.
Because 1936 was also the year when Great Britain last won the Davis Cup, beating the USA team 3-2 in the final at Wimbledon, Fred Perry’s 6-2 6-3 6-3 victory over Jack Crawford in the deciding fifth rubber securing the cup for the home team. The names are legendary: Perry, Bunny Austin ... Patrick Hughes ... Raymond Tuckey. Okay, you probably haven’t heard too much about the last two, but everyone had a part to play. A team is only as strong as its weakest link.
Seventy-nine years down the line, Andy Murray has been beating that drum as Britain gear up for their first Davis Cup final since 1978. This best-of-five final has understandably been built up as Murray versus Belgium, even by the hosts, but Britain’s world No2 cannot do everything on his own. Although he’s the man to beat, the prime target, a class above every other player, will still need some help from his brother Jamie in the doubles on Saturday and he can only play in two singles matches. What he’d give for some help from Britain’s nominated No2, Kyle Edmund, who plays in today’s opening singles match against David Goffin.
Yet it’s a tall order for Murray’s young friend. Edmund is a promising player who has performed well on clay in South America recently, beating Carlos Berloq in a Challenger final in Buenos Aires, but the 20-year-old is ranked 100th in the world and he will play the match of his life to stand any chance against Goffin, the world No16. The likelihood is that Britain will be 1-0 down in a couple of hours. Goffin is a lovely player, a natural clay courter, and he should have too much for Edmund here.
Belgium have got this far by winning home ties against Switzerland, Canada and Argentina, although they’ve had some luck along the way. Switzerland were without Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, Canada were missing Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic, Argentina did not have to face Novak Djokovic when they beat Serbia in the last eight. Belgium are not brimming with star quality. Goffin gives them hope of winning their first Davis Cup, but he is backed up by Steve Darcis, Ruben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans, a fairly uninspiring bunch. They hope that playing on clay will disturb Britain and their home advantage could make a difference. But let’s go further back in time, past 1936, to 1904 and Belgium’s only other appearance in a Davis Cup final. Who beat them 5-0 at Wimbledon? Britain! And that’s Great Britain to you.
Play begins at: 12.30pm GMT, 1.30pm in Ghent.
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