JAMIE MURRAY and Dominic Inglot came close to pulling off a shock Davis Cup victory but were eventually beaten by the world’s best doubles partnership, the Bryan brothers, in another enthralling day at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.
The elder Murray and Inglot fought back from two sets down against Bob and Mike Bryan but went down 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-7 9-7 after three hours and 39 minutes. The result means that Andy Murray will take Britain into the World Group quarter-finals if he gets the better of John Isner in today’s opening match. “This is a match Andy will relish,” said his brother.
Murray has a 3-0 lead over Isner from previous meetings and the American is still recovering from the blow of losing Friday night’s dramatic five-setter against James Ward. “I am sure Andy will be pretty confident and I don’t think Isner will exactly be back-flipping out of bed to play him,” said the elder Murray. “With Isner’s serve you have always got to give him something of a chance but I would never bet against Andy in this kind of situation. There will be 7,700 Scots cheering him on. We are all fully confident he will do it.”
The Americans are mindful of Murray’s Davis Cup record in singles with 19 wins and just two defeats since he made his debut 10 years ago. Captain Jim Courier is aware the 27-year-old has never been quite so motivated as he is with his countrymen cheering him on.
“We have a lot of work ahead, that’s for sure,” said Courier. “Having Bob and Mike in doubles is the biggest luxury a Davis Cup captain can have. It’s a virtual guaranteed point. John was pretty disappointed after losing to Ward but he’s rebounded OK and will be fine for the match against Andy while knowing he’s playing one of the best players in the world.”
Advertisement
While Courier was claiming team unity, Jamie Murray suggested all was not well in the US camp. “It’s pretty obvious to me that we’re a much tighter team than the American team,” he said.