The moment Andy Murray has pursued with such fanatical zeal finally arrived, unforgettably, on Sunday when an outrageous lob arced over Belgium’s David Goffin to seal Britain’s first Davis Cup title for 79 years.
Fittingly for a player who has almost single-handedly guided his nation to the title this year, the indefatigable Murray ended Goffin’s inspired resistance with a moment of sheer brilliance few could conjure to complete a 6-3 7-5 6-3 victory.
It gave Britain a winning 3-1 lead and started a party that hundreds of visiting fans decked out in union flags and Scottish saltires were to keep going long into the night in medieval Ghent.
Photo: AFP
Murray, who put in a triple-shift over the weekend and looked exhausted at the end of a tense three-hour contest, collapsed on to the clay court before being swamped by his teammates, including brother, Jamie, and captain Leon Smith.
Sportingly, he clambered to his feet to console Goffin, who had gallantly clung on to the hope of keeping alive Belgium’s chances of winning the title for the first time.
Andy Murray then saluted the “Barmy Army,” who roared his every winner over a weekend that rubber-stamped his place in the chronicles of British sporting greatness, if any had doubted it after he ended a 77-year wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon in 2013, a year after winning the Olympics and the US Open.
“I probably have not been as emotional as that after a match that I have won,” Andy Murray said. “It is incredible that we managed to win this competition. I did not know that would ever be possible. It is great.”
World No. 2 Andy Murray, whose return to the team in 2013 accelerated Britain’s rapid rise from the depths that begun when Smith took charge in 2010, has won 11 live rubbers in this year’s run, matching Ivan Ljubicic’s total for Croatia in 2005.
He has won all eight singles he played, while teaming up three times with his brother for crucial doubles wins.
“Really impressive from @andy_murray. One of the best Davis Cup years in history,” former US Open champion and world No. 1 Andy Roddick said on Twitter.
Andy Murray is the first player since American Pete Sampras in 1995 to win three live rubbers in a final.
There was a sense of inevitability about the outcome on Sunday, with Belgium trailing 2-1 and needing to win both reverse singles. However, Goffin, roared on by a soccer-style crowd inside the claustrophobic arena, forced Andy Murray to play his best tennis.
Goffin squandered a break point at 2-2 in the opening set and his opponent then pounced, scorching a backhand winner off a weak second serve to take a lead he never relinquished.
There was no chance of Goffin fading though. He played some sensational tennis to stay with Andy Murray in the second set, but a tired forehand into the net in 11th game gave Andy Murray a break and the Scot struck a stupendous forehand winner to seal the set.
Andy Murray wobbled briefly when he dropped serve early in the third set, but he responded to move 5-3 ahead before providing the most spectacular of climaxes to a memorable year.
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