Wednesday 25 November 2015 00:02, UK
Andy Schooler profiles the players and looks at the relevant statistics ahead of this week's Belgium v Great Britain Davis Cup Final.
Venue: Flanders Expo, Ghent
An exhibition centre of the outskirts of the city of Ghent in northern Belgium. A court has been laid in the largest of several halls at the complex with seating for 13,000 fans.
Surface: Indoor red clay
Ball: Babolat French Open All Court
Head-to-head: Great Britain lead 7-4
Belgium played their one and only Davis Cup final against Great Britain back in 1904 - and lost 5-0 at the old Wimbledon venue, Worple Road. It was the nations' first-ever meeting in the competition and since then the Belgians have played ties in the seaside resorts of Folkestone, Torquay and Scarborough. Britain lead on claycourts 4-2 but Belgium won the only previous indoor tie. That was in 2012 in the sides' last meeting which took place at Glasgow's Braehead Arena and is one of only two defeats GB captain Leon Smith has suffered during his five-and-a-half-year tenure. Three of the four Belgians who played in that tie will be involved again this week.
Schedule: Friday - two singles (1230 GMT); Saturday - one doubles (1400 GMT); Sunday - two singles (1200 GMT).
Colours: Belgium will play predominantly in red, Great Britain in blue. Indeed, the LTA is urging GB fans travelling to Ghent to wear blue to show their support.
ANDY MURRAY
World ranking: 2
Age: 28
Davis Cup record: Singles 25-2 (7-2 clay; 6-0 2015); Doubles 6-5 (2-2 clay; 2-0 2015); Overall: 31-7 (9-4 clay; 8-0 2015)
The former Wimbledon champion lost his first Davis Cup singles rubber back in 2005 but since he has lost just once - to Italy's Fabio Fognini, on clay, last year. Admittedly many of those wins came against lowly opponents and it may well have been his 6-0 6-0 6-0 victory over Luxembourg's Laurent Bram in 2011 which helped him decide to take a break from the competition. At the time he said it was time for other British players to step up to the plate. They responded well to the challenge and after a two-year absence, Murray returned at the end of 2013 to help GB earn promotion to the World Group. Last year he was part of the team which won its first World Group tie for 28 years and this season he's taken them a step further after winning three rubbers in as many days against both France in July and Australia in September. Many feel a repeat will be required for Great Britain to lift the trophy in Ghent.
Record v Goffin: 2-0 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Paris 2015, 6-1 6-0
Record v Darcis: 1-0 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Glasgow Futures 2003, 6-3 3-6 6-3
Record v Bemelmans: 0-0
Record v Coppejans: 0-0
Season so far: Impressive but without the prize he craved the most, a Grand Slam title. Made the final in Australia and the semis at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Notably in terms of this tie, his claycourt season was the best of his career with a Masters 1000 title claimed in Madrid. Murray added another Masters crown in Montreal on the hardcourts but the following US Open brought his earliest Grand Slam defeat in five years. Won just one of his three matches at last week's ATP World Tour Finals but prepared for that event on clay - in anticipation of this tie.
KYLE EDMUND
World ranking: 100
Davis Cup record: Yet to play
The 20-year-old is widely seen as the future of British men's tennis but he's yet to play in a Davis Cup tie. Has been in and around the squad plenty of times but has not been given his chance to take to the court. Had looked set to play in the semi-final in September but an ankle injury picked up in practice saw Dan Evans picked instead. Captain Leon Smith will have to decided whether to hand him his debut in a hostile atmosphere of a huge tie, or pick the more experienced James Ward. The history books show just five players have debuted in the final, one of them being Pete Sampras. All five lost their debut match.
Record v Goffin: 0-0
Record v Darcis: 1-0 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Irving Challenger 2015, 7-6 6-2
Record v Bemelmans: 0-0
Record v Coppejans: 0-1 (0-1 clay) - last meeting, Turin Challenger 2015, 7-6 3-6 0-6
Season so far: Is favourite to claim the second singles spot following a run of success on clay in South America of late where he won a Challenger Tour title in Buenos Aires - this third at that level of 2015. Also proved his ability on the surface by qualifying at Roland Garros and then winning his first main-draw match at a Grand Slam. His efforts saw him crack the world's top 100 for the first time.
JAMES WARD
World ranking: 156
Age: 28
Davis Cup record: Singles 10-9 (1-2 clay; 1-2 2015); Doubles 0-0; Overall: 10-9 (1-2 clay; 1-2 2015)
Made his debut in GB's 2010 'nadir' defeat to Lithuania which would be John Lloyd's last tie as captain. Has since played in 10 of the 13 ties under Leon Smith, notching crucial victories over Russia's Dmitry Tursunov in 2013, the USA's Sam Querrey in 2014 and another American, John Isner, in this year's first round. On all three occasions Ward battled back from behind and each time the shock result helped GB claim a surprise win in the tie. Such results and his experience may give him the edge over Edmund when Smith comes to name his final team.
Record v Goffin: 0-0
Record v Darcis: 0-1 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Irving Challenger 2015, 4-6 4-6
Record v Bemelmans: 0-2 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Zagreb Q, 6-7 6-7
Record v Coppejans: 1-0 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Toyota Challenger 2013, 6-2 6-3
Season so far: A good first half of the year culminated in a run to the third round of Wimbledon and he subsequently broke into the world's top 100 for the first time in his career. However, a miserable summer followed with a run of 11 straight defeats costing Ward his place in GB's semi-final team. Since then he's returned to form with victory on the Challenger Tour in India.
JAMIE MURRAY
World ranking (doubles): 7
Age: 29
Davis Cup record: Singles 0-1 (0-0 clay; 2-1 2015); Doubles: 6-3 (0-1 clay; 2-1 2015); Overall: 6-4 (0-1 clay; 2-1 2015)
After a absence of almost four years, Murray returned to the GB team at the start of the current campaign and made an immediate impact as he and Dom Inglot pushed the American Bryan brothers all the way. Inglot is one of six doubles partners Murray has had in this competition, another being his younger brother Andy with whom he teamed up to claim vital points against France and Australia in subsequent rounds. The siblings remain unbeaten in Davis Cup play.
Season so far: It's been a fine season for the elder Murray brother and his Australian partner John Peers. They've won titles in Brisbane and Hamburg, while they fell just short at both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the final on each occasion. More recently the duo also list in finals in Vienna and Basel before competing in the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time.
DOMINIC INGLOT
World ranking (doubles): 23
Age: 29
Davis Cup record: Singles 0-0; Doubles 0-2 (0-1 clay; 0-1 2015); Overall: 0-2 (0-1 clay; 0-1 2015)
Inglot has yet to win a Davis Cup rubber but will still be able to draw strength from his previous outing which came earlier this year against the USA. 'Dom the Bomb' put in an excellent performance as he and Jamie Murray pushed the Bryan brothers all the way that day, eventually losing 9-7 in the final set.
Season so far: A good one, if somewhat frustrating. A partnership with Florin Mergea started well only for the Romanian to end it out of the blue. Then came a knee injury which forced him to miss the claycourt season. However, he's now flourishing again with new partner Robert Lindstedt, the pair having won the title in Winston-Salem before reaching the semi-finals of the US Open. The pair were also semi-finalists in both Basel and Paris recently.
LEON SMITH (captain)
Was seen of something of a surprise choice when appointed in 2010. This was mainly due to his lack of a high-profile playing career. Instead he has a strong background in coaching and has used that to full effect in this role so far. His first tie came against Turkey when defeat would have seen GB relegated to the bottom tier of the global competition. That was avoided and it's been virtually up and up ever since. Smith has presided over 13 ties, winning 11 of them, including GB's first World Group victory in 28 years last season. Now he has become the first man since Paul Hutchins in 1978 to lead Britain into a Davis Cup final.
DAVID GOFFIN
World ranking: 16
Age: 24
Davis Cup record: Singles: 11-2 (4-1 clay; 4-0 2015); Doubles: 0-1 (0-0 clay; 0-0 2015); Overall: 11-3 (4-1 clay; 4-0 2015)
Made his debut against Great Britain in Glasgow back in 2012 and has since built a strong record with only two singles defeats. He comes into this tie having won his last 20 sets in Davis Cup play. This season he's won four matches out of four en route to the final but may need to preserve that unbeaten record if Belgium are to triumph.
Record v A Murray: 0-2 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Paris 2015, 1-6 0-6
Record v Ward: 0-0
Record v Edmund: 0-0
Season so far: Made finals on the grass of Den Bosch and the clay of Gstaad but failed to win an ATP title. He won two in 2014. Taking a set off Roger Federer in Basel recently was an encouraging sign but the following week's defeat in Paris to Andy Murray, a player Goffin is likely to meet on the Sunday of this final, certainly was not. The Belgian won just one game and afterwards his comments suggested he had been expecting to lose, something that doesn't bode well for their Ghent rematch.
STEVE DARCIS
World ranking: 84
Age: 31
Davis Cup record: Singles: 17-8 (10-1 clay; 4-2 2015); Doubles: 1-6 (1-3 clay; 0-1 2015); Overall: 18-14 (11-4 clay; 4-3 2015)
Has not lost a Davis Cup singles match on clay since his debut back in 2005, while his record on all surfaces in Belgium is a fine one with just to two live-rubber losses (admittedly both were this year). Held his nerve in the semi-final to clinch Belgium's final spot, defeating Federico Delbonis in the fifth rubber - the fourth time he has won a live final rubber in the competition. Also played in the previous tie between these two nations, winning a point in Belgium's 4-1 victory in Glasgow in 2012.
Record v A Murray: 0-1 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Glasgow Futures 2003, 3-6 6-3 3-6
Record v Edmund: 0-1 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Irving Challenger 2015, 6-7 2-6
Record v Ward: 1-0 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Irving Challenger 2015, 6-4 6-4
Season so far: Turned his ankle in his last outing in Stockholm a month ago, raising concerns over his fitness for this tie. Prior to that it had been an unspectacular campaign for the Belgian number two. He did win a Challenger tournament in the opening week of the season but on the main tour two quarter-final appearances were as good as it got.
RUBEN BEMELMANS
World ranking: 108
Age: 27
Davis Cup record: Singles: 3-7 (1-1 clay; 0-1 2015); Doubles: 5-4 (2-1 clay; 2-1 2015); Overall: 8-11 (3-2 clay; 2-2 2015)
Another who played against Great Britain in Glasgow in 2012, Bemelmans has only ever won one live singles rubber. His record in doubles is better with four of his last five rubbers in that format won despite having had to play with four different partners during that run.
Record v A Murray: 0-0
Record v Edmund: 0-0
Record v Ward: 2-0 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Zagreb Q 2010, 7-6 7-6
Season so far: Not great. Has won two singles titles and two doubles crowns at Challenger level but victories on the main tour have proved much harder to come by. Arguably his best effort came at the US Open where he made the third round, claiming a notable scalp in Gilles Muller before benefiting from Jack Sock's heat-exhaustion retirement. Hasn't played a main-tour level match since his New York defeat to Stan Wawrinka in early September.
KIMMER COPPEJANS
World ranking: 128
Age: 21
Davis Cup record: Singles: 1-0 (1-0 clay; 1-0 2015); Doubles: 1-0 (1-0 clay; 1-0 2015); Overall: 2-0 (2-0 clay; 2-0 2015)
Has limited Davis Cup experience having actually only played in one tie. His debut came in the quarter-final success over Canada in July when he teamed up with Bemelmans to claim the tie-clinching point in the doubles rubber. Played - and won - a dead singles rubber the next day but unlikely to be considered for singles duty in Ghent.
Record v A Murray: 0-0
Record v Ward: 0-1 (0-0 clay) - last meeting, Toyota Challenger 2013, 3-6 2-6
Record v Edmund: 1-0 (1-0 clay) - last meeting, Turin Challenger 2015, 6-7 6-3 6-0
Season so far: Another who has played the majority of his tennis on the second division Challenger Tour this season. Has managed to win two Challenger titles though, including one on clay in Turkey. Also showed his propensity for the clay surface by qualifying for Roland Garros. Since the US Open, Coppejans has played exclusively on clay in South America, reaching another Challenger final in Brazil.