Andy Murray breezed past Donald Young in straight sets as Great Britain took an early lead in their Davis Cup World Group opener against the United States on Friday.
The reigning Wimbledon champion Murray needed just 98 minutes to easily dispatch world No 79 Young 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 on the clay court surface at Petco Park stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres.
Murray, who blasted seven aces, closed out the rubber with a backhand return down the line that Young had no chance on.
“I managed to come up with some good shots when I needed them,” said world No 6 Murray. “I hope we keep enjoying the weekend. It has been a good start.”
Young, who is competing in his first career Davis Cup, was a late replacement for injured world No 13 John Isner.
Murray is still recovering from back surgery he underwent in September. At times on Friday he appeared to grimace after hitting shots, including one backhand into the net in the seventh game of the third set.
Scotsman Murray is scheduled to play in Saturday’s doubles with teammate Colin Fleming against Bob and Mike Bryan. But he said Friday that he wasn’t fully committed to playing doubles.
“We will see. We have options in the doubles,” Murray said. “I play doubles sometimes and I have missed the doubles.
“It is a big challenge for whoever is on the court,” he added. “But maybe I will be out there who knows.”
If Murray doesn’t play doubles he could be replaced by Dominic Inglot.
Later Friday, word No 175 James Ward won 10 of the last 11 games to take a stunning five-set victory against Sam Querrey and give Britain a 2-0 lead.
Ward, ranked 175th in the world, was two games from losing the match when he began his rally that gave him a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
With dusk approaching and the lights on at the downtown baseball park, Ward won the match with an overhand smash. He leaned back, pumped his fists and hollered as his teammates, watching from one side of the court, jumped to their feet in celebration.
“It’s great to be around a group of guys you don’t really have the support of normally, every week of the year,” Ward said “It’s certainly a different feeling. You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for everyone else.”
In other World Group matches, France lead Australia 2-0, Kazakhstan lead Belgium 2-0, Germany are up 2-0 against Spain and Switzerland lead Serbia 2-0. The Italy-Argentina and Netherlands-Czech Republic matches are tied 1-1, and Japan went up 2-1 on Canada on Saturday.
