Situated next to an Ikea and in need of a lick of paint in more than a few areas, the Flanders Expo looks more like the venue for a depressing three-day conference about the history of cardboard than a modern tennis stadium.
Walking through the concourse of this sprawling warehouse, it felt like an excitable salesman might jump out and strike up a conversation about his company’s new range of boxes. But one way or another, this is where history will be made over the next two days.
No one was fretting about the decor by the end of a gripping opening day of the 2015 Davis Cup final, which began with the shock of seeing Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund storm into a doomed two-set lead against Belgium’s David Goffin and finished with Andy Murray levelling the tie at 1-1 after winning a battle of the mind with Ruben Bemelmans and the boozy home supporters who were crammed into the stands. It may have been drab and uninspiring on the outside, but it was a bearpit inside; tight, atmospheric, deafeningly loud. The low position of the girders above the court added to the sense of claustrophobia and it was a typically eccentric Murray moment when he hit the roof with one shanked forehand. The buildup during the week was dominated by fears that the final would be cancelled because of security concerns after the terror attacks in Paris. The beautiful city of Ghent is 35 miles away from Brussels, where life is gradually returning to normality after Belgium’s capital was placed under lockdown last Saturday, and a bomb scare on the local tram service on Friday morning was hardly an ideal way to start the day. It soon transpired that it was a prank. Someone has a very strange sense of humour.
While talk that fans would stay away was understandable, the spirits of the British team must have soared when they saw the amount of red, white and blue in the crowd. The sizeable travelling contingent ran through their repertoire of chants in the long queues to get into the arena and it was clear that Murray and Edmund were not going to be alone as they set about trying to win Britain’s first Davis Cup since 1936.
Yet they were greatly outnumbered by the Belgian fans, who reacted like their players had won the cup every time a point went their way. Murray later revealed that the noise meant he did not realise he had already been given a warning when the umpire handed him a point penalty for an audible obscenity in the third set.
The Davis Cup is an idiosyncratic event. Tennis is an individual sport, but this is its version of a World Cup, a team competition that often seems insignificant next to the glamour of the grand slams. Yet it means the world to the British and Belgian teams this weekend and the cheers were ear-splitting when the curtains around came down to reveal the two teams standing side by side at the net before the start of play. They were joined on court by the king and queen of Belgium. It was an occasion that called for pomp and ceremony. Happy young people, curiously bare-footed, sang the national anthems. While Great Britain are looking to end 79 years of hurt, Belgium are hoping to win the Davis Cup for the first time in their modest tennis history. This is only the second time they have reached the final – and their last appearance ended in a 5-0 defeat to Great Britain at Wimbledon in 1904.
They have home advantage this time and their decision to play the tie on an indoor clay court was designed to disturb Britain’s flow. The surface was certainly a concern for Murray, whose preparations were disturbed by his involvement in last week’s World Tour Finals. Yet he should be fresh for Saturday afternoon’s doubles alongside his brother, Jamie, when Kimmer Coppejans and Steve Darcis lie in wait.
Murray’s 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Bemelmans in the second singles rubber was rarely in doubt. The Belgian fans tried to put the world No2 off with every trick in the book during a dramatic third set, whistling before his serves, voicing outrage whenever he slowed the pace down.
It was pure theatre. Murray roared at them when he saved a set point. He relished the jeers.
Earlier the Belgian fans had watched in stunned silence when Edmund led Goffin by two sets. Yet Goffin eventually showed why he is the world No16, coming back in relentless fashion to defeat his young opponent 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
Once the disappointment passes, Edmund will realise that he let no one down. Yet if the 20-year-old had won one more set, glory would have been within touching distance for Britain after all these years.
