Great Britain edge closer to Davis Cup victory over Serbia
Monday 18 July 2016 10:47, UK
Great Britain opened up a 2-1 lead over Serbia in their Davis Cup quarter-final after Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot sealed victory in the doubles.
The British duo overcame a second set fight back from Serbia's Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic as they completed a 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 win on the clay in Belgrade.
Earlier in the day, the hosts had levelled the tie after Dusan Lajovic's straight sets win over James Ward, but Murray and Inglot ensured GB will need just one more win from Sunday's two singles matches.
The GB pairing raced through the opening set with little resistance, but they were edged out by Krajinovic in the second set tie-break to add further tension as the rested British No 1 Andy Murray watched anxiously.
Murray and Inglot regained command in the third set, gaining a crucial solitary break, and then broke again at the start of the fourth to heap more pressure on the Serbs.
With Inglot serving for the victory, the Brits were forced to defend a break point, and there was controversy when the umpire called a let due to crowd disruption.
To the dismay of the home support, Inglot calmly sent down two fierce serves to secure a precious win for Leon Smith's GB side.
Heavy rain meant the second singles rubber was unable to be played on Friday night and there was another hour delay at the start of play on Saturday.
But Lajovic, the Serbian No 1 in the absence of Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki, wasted no time clinching a 6-1 6-3 6-2 victory over Ward to make it 1-1.
Ward has often played way above his ranking in Davis Cup and has posted some famous wins but this was an occasion to forget.
Kyle Edmund had given the visitors the lead on Friday with a confident victory over Janko Tipsarevic.
Both Lajovic and Ward went into the match on four-match losing streaks but there was no question who was the more natural clay-court player, with Ward's movement poor throughout.
The temporary court at the Tasmajdan Stadium had taken a battering from the weather and was slow and boggy. Ground staff worked on it after every game but to little avail.
The writing was on the wall for Ward when he dropped his serve in the opening game and he lost seven in a row to trail 3-0 in the second set.
The 29-year-old Londoner has struggled for wins for the last 12 months, with his ranking slipping to 240, and he looked a man short on form and confidence.
Lajovic, ranked 81, has limited Davis Cup experience but was the player looking to attack and his backhand down the line caused Ward no end of problems.
The British No 5 was not originally in the team for the tie but replaced Dan Evans last week, with captain Leon Smith saying he was not in the right 'head space' following a shoulder problem and personal issues.
Ward improved a little at the end of the second set and at least managed to hold serve but he could not threaten Lajovic's.
Ward had come from two sets down to post his biggest win, against USA No 1 John Isner in Davis Cup last year, but there was never any question of a repeat here.
