Davis Cup semi-final: Great Britain all square with Australia

Great Britain and Australia will head into Saturday's doubles tied at 1-1 after wins for Andy Murray and Bernard Tomic in the Davis Cup semi-final. 

Murray opened the tie at Glasgow's Emirates Arena with a crushing 6-3 6-0 6-3 win over Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Australian number one Tomic then saw off Dan Evans 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 to level the best-of-five tie.

Murray could play alongside his brother Jamie in the doubles against Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth.
Britain are trying to reach their first final since 1978, and win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.

In the second semi-final in Brussels, Belgium and Argentina are also tied at 1-1.

World number 15 David Goffin got the home team off to the perfect start with a 7-5 7-6 6-3 win over Federico Delbonis, before Leonardo Mayer levelled the tie with a 7-6 7-6 4-6 6-3 win over Steve Darcis.

 

Murray brothers could team up

The official line-up has Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot down to face Hewitt and Groth, but there is every chance captain Leon Smith will bring in the younger Murray brother.

Team nominations can change up to an hour before play, and having spent just 107 minutes on court against Kokkinakis, Andy Murray is willing to play on Saturday and Sunday.

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
"The scores are level, but Britain have more to cheer heading into the second day. First, Andy Murray played a near perfect match and then Dan Evans kept Bernard Tomic on court for three hours. Tomic was struggling physically towards the end and he's due to play Murray in Sunday's opening singles.
"For Britain to be in pole position, though, they must win Saturday's doubles. Leon Smith had a vexing selection decision to make earlier in the week: bringing Murray in to play alongside his brother will not cause him any palpitations."

"I think everyone in the team wants to play, everyone wants to try and help where they can," said the former Wimbledon champion.

"Ultimately the decision is up to the captain and the players who go on the court have a job to do when they go out there."

 

Tomic gets past battling Evans

Tomic has a day to recover before facing Andy Murray in Sunday's singles

It was a tall order for the world number 300 to overcome the world number 23, but Evans did enough to worry Tomic and justify his surprise selection.

The 25-year-old from Solihull was chosen ahead of James Ward and Kyle Edmund, with 29 match wins since Wimbledon on the lower Futures circuit and a previous victory over Tomic swinging the decision his way.

He finished the match with 58 winners to Tomic's 67 in a gripping contest, and perhaps more importantly put three hours of intense effort into the Australian's legs.

Evans struggled with the step up in class at first as Tomic dominated the opening set and took a 3-1 lead in the second.

GB captain Leon Smith
"I feel for Dan. I think he repaid the faith that we had to select him. If it does come down to the final rubber that's going to stand him in good stead. I respect Kyle [Edmund] and James [Ward] hugely, but I just thought Dan would have a great chance against Tomic on this court, and so it proved."

The British number eight gave notice of what was to come as he fought back to earn a tie-break, only to see Tomic take it comfortably, and a two-set deficit appeared beyond Evans.

Tomic wobbled badly when serving for the match in the third, however, and was broken back as the Glasgow crowd roared on an Evans comeback.

A brilliant drop shot saw the Briton take charge of the second tie-break and Tomic was left flat on his back after a volley sailed wide on set point.

Both men were now struggling physically and Tomic again failed to serve out the match at 5-2 in the fourth, but he held firm at the third attempt to grab a point that puts the tie back in the balance.

Britain's Davis Cup history
Great Britain are looking to reach their 20th final. They have been crowned Davis Cup champions nine times, with the last title coming in 1936 with a 3-2 victory over Australia.

 

Classy Murray overwhelms Kokkinakis

Murray is nine years older than Kokkinakis at 28, and ranked 69 places higher at three in the world, but this was still an impressive performance against one of the sport's up-and-coming stars.

The pair are regular practice partners, and Murray made sure he laid down a marker in their first competitive meeting.

Kokkinankis, urged on by Hewitt on the Australian bench, began well enough to see off five break points with some bold play.

However, a terrific lunging return helped Murray make the breakthrough at 4-2 and the Scot simply powered away.

A beautiful lob set the tone on the first point of the second as he went on to break to love, and he would lose just five points in a masterclass of a set.

With Murray's backhand proving irresistible, 19-year-old Kokkinakis was simply overwhelmed, and another break at 2-1 in the third effectively clinched it.

"It was a huge match and I'm glad I managed to put on a good performance," said Murray. "The crowd was excellent from first to last.

"I was hitting the ball cleanly and I didn't give him any opportunities on my serve.

"Representing your country is a proud moment, I love it, and I always perform my best when I'm here for my country."

Great Britain 1-1 Australia
*days 2 and 3 draws subject to change
Friday
Andy Murray beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 6-0 6-3
Dan Evans lost to Bernard Tomic 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4
Saturday from 13:00
Dom Inglot & Jamie Murray v Lleyton Hewitt & Samuel Groth
Sunday from 13:00
Andy Murray v Bernard Tomic
Dan Evans v v Thanasi Kokkinakis