Andy is a Brit of all right
ANDY MURRAY last night revealed how he had battled through the pain barrier to carry Britain to their first Davis Cup final in 37 years. The World No 3 secured all three points in the semi-final victory over Australia at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, winning both his singles rubbers and teaming up with brother Jamie to triumph in the doubles. It sets up a
pulsating final against Belgium in November. Murray insisted that, despite his and Jamie’s five-set epic against Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt on Saturday, he was never worried about having enough energy left to beat Bernard Tomic 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in yesterday’s decisive singles match. But he admitted: ‘I was more concerned about my back. My back had been giving me a lot of trouble this week, the few days before the tie as well — so that was the thing I was most concerned about. The problem is nothing to do with the previous issues that I had with my back, it’s a completely different thing. During the long US Open stretch it was absolutely fine. ‘Sometimes when you have played a lot of tennis, or any sport, then you take a break, your muscles sometimes stiffen and tighten up. ‘Then, when you come back, you can have some issues. Maybe it was to do with that.’ Murray said he had tried to keep all thoughts of making history out of his mind during his win over world No 23 Tomic. And he warned that Belgium away will be tough opponents, adding: ‘Belgium have a player, David Goffin, who’s very close to being in the top 10 in the world — and it’s possible that by then he is. ‘Playing at home, whichever surface, they will pick one that they think gives them the best chance. So there’s no guarantees but reaching the final is something that GB hasn’t done for a long time — and everyone in the team should be very proud of that.’