London // Andy Murray will lead Britain’s bid for a first Davis Cup win since 1936 in Belgium this month with James Ward and Kyle Edmund in contention for the second singles spot.
Murray, 28, has won all eight of his rubbers this year – six singles and two doubles – en route to Britain’s first final since 1978, defeating the United States, France and Australia.
But his preparations for the November 27-29 final on the slow clay court of Ghent have been hampered by his obligations to play in this week’s ATP World Tour finals on a hard court in London.
Team captain Leon Smith will look for Murray to bag two points from his singles matches and also possibly link up with brother Jamie to ensure what could be the clinching point in the doubles, as they did against Australia in the semi-finals.
Smith does not have to finalise his four-man line-up until a week on Thursday, and he is likely to see how Edmund and Ward perform in practice on clay at the Flanders Expo before making a final decision.
Ward has been a key figure in the run to the final, claiming a vital five-set win against John Isner during the first-round tie against the United States.
But Edmund, 20, has pushed himself into contention by winning a Challenger title on clay in Buenos Aires on Sunday and is in line to make his Davis Cup debut.
Dan Evans, who also won a title on Sunday, has been left out but was a late inclusion for the semi-final against Australia so could potentially still figure.
“It is a historic moment in British tennis and I’m delighted to name these five players for the tie against Belgium,” Smith said.
“Andy has led from the front throughout this campaign, showing time and again what it means to him to pull on the GB jersey. He shows determination, commitment and passion that inspires the other British players on the bench and our fantastic fans in the stands.”
Nishikori bounces back to beat Berdych
Kei Nishikori shook off an opening-day drubbing by Novak Djokovic to beat Tomas Berdych 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the best match yet at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.
The Japanese world No 8 looked in trouble when he faced a break point at 3-3 in the deciding set but he finished fast to register his first win in Group A.
“I got a bit lucky in the last couple of games but I worked really hard today,” said Nishikori, 25.
A match full of powerful baseline rallies ebbed and flowed.
World No 6 Berdych, who was beaten by Roger Federer in his opening match, squandered a great chance in the first set when Nishikori was serving at 4-5, 15-30, missing a wide-open court with a backhand at the end of brilliant rally.
It proved costly as Berdych dropped serve in the next game and Nishikori clinched the set on serve with a pinpoint forehand winner past the wrong-footed Czech.
Nishikori went 2-0 ahead in the second set but Berdych reeled off five games in a row with some thunderous winners to turn the match around and send it towards a deciding set – the first so far in the singles this year at the O2 Arena.
An engrossing third set reached a crucial juncture at 3-3 when a lucky net cord gave Berdych a break point, but Nishikori showed great defensive skills to fend off a big attack from his Czech opponent and kept his nose ahead at 4-3.
Two forehand errors from the Berdych racket allowed Nishikori to move 5-3 ahead and the Japanese player secured victory with a love hold.
Meanwhile, Jamie Murray and John Peers have work to do to reach the semi-finals of the doubles after losing their second match to Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea proved a tougher nut to crack.
The Indian/Romanian duo followed up their victory over the Bryan brothers by winning 6-3, 7-6 to book their spot in the last four.
Murray and Peers now almost certainly have to beat the top-ranked Bryans in their final group match on Thursday if they are to make the semi-finals.
“It’s an exciting match to play. I guess we have to win if we want to try to stay in the competition. They always bring a lot of energy to the court. We have to do the same if we want to try to win,” Murray said.
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