British tennis, for so long the punchline to gags about national sporting ineptitude, has recovered its pride after Andy Murray hauled a rejuvenated team to the altogether unlikely heights of its first Davis Cup triumph since 1936.
The culmination of a campaign in which supposed superpowers of the game – the US, France and Australia – were dispatched along the way, took place not at Roland Garros, Flushing Meadow or any of tennis’s great theatres, but in a warehouse in a Belgian suburb, where more than 1,000 travelling British fans in a crowd of 13,000 saw the hosts swept aside over three days.
On Sunday, Murray did his duty yet again. With history on his shoulders, the world No 2 led Great Britain to victory, echoing the deeds of Fred Perry and Bunny Austin against Australia at Wimbledon 79 years ago. Murray beat Belgium’s best player, the 16th-ranked David Goffin, in straight sets to secure the five-match tie 3-1.
“It feels amazing,” Murray said courtside against a backdrop of rolling tumult. “I never felt we would have the opportunity to do this. I can’t believe we did it. Everybody has played an unbelievably high level. I really can’t believe we did it.”
As much as it was a team effort, Murray pretty much won this ancient and oversized trophy on his own, winning his first singles match on Friday against Ruben Bemelmans and combining with his brother, Jamie, to win the doubles on Saturday.
There was a moment during his 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win over Goffin when Murray exploded in anger at his elder brother, who had wandered into his sightline at one end of the court, on his way to sit with their grandparents and Andy’s pregnant wife, Kim.
“I try to avoid eye contact with Jamie during a match because you know they’re stressed,” he explained later. When he brought the match to a conclusion after nearly three hours with a trademark lob (in a venue where the girders above the court are three centimetres lower than regulations stipulate), he fell to the clay – not his favourite playing surface – and cried uncontrollably.
He was soon on his feet, hugging and laughing with the rest of the squad then doing a fist pump of congratulation for the travelling fans.
The younger Murray aside, this is not a collection of superstars. Only Kyle Edmund is also ranked among the world’s top 100 singles players – at No 100 – but the competition’s format allows a strong player to carry his team; in the 17 completed rubbers, singles and doubles, from the first-round win over the US, Murray played in 11 and won all of them.
It is also a triumph for the captain, Leon Smith, who has known the Murray brothers since their boyhood in Dunblane. Five years ago he took over a team that had just been defeated by Lithuania in the competition’s third division, perhaps Great Britain’s lowest ebb in the Davis Cup.
“It’s as good a feeling as I could possibly imagine,” said Smith. “Andy just showed himself to be a superstar again. He will say it’s a team effort, but I’m so, so proud of him, of what he’s done this year. There are also a lot of people who don’t get a lot of credit. They work their socks off. Every player has played a part.”
Murray now adds the Davis Cup to a collection of honours that includes the Wimbledon title, the US Open crown and Olympic gold and silver medals. He is perhaps the nation’s most garlanded athlete and will become a father in the new year. “I’ve got that to look forward to as well,” he said. “It’s a great few months.”
Murray, a big boxing fan, made for him what was a major sacrifice by forgoing the chance to watch on television Tyson Fury’s victory over Wladimir Klitschko to win the world heavyweight title late on Saturday, another unexpected British triumph. “I had to go to sleep early last night, to get my rest.”
He added: “I imagine everyone will be on fire tonight. We’ve got to enjoy this because we might never get the opportunity to do this again. The Australian Open in January is next. I’ve lost in the final there four times. I need to learn a few lessons from this week, to work hard for every part. First, I’ll enjoy this one.”
