Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot win their doubles rubber to give Great Britain a 2-1 lead over Serbia in their Davis Cup quarter-final in Belgrade.
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MATCH REPORT:Murray and Inglot win gives GB 2-1 lead
Watch live coverage of the Davis Cup on BBC One, the BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app from 13:45 BST on Sunday, 17 July.
| Davis Cup: Serbia v Great Britain |
|---|
| Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade Dates: 15-17 July |
| Coverage: Live on BBC TV, Red Button, the BBC Sport website, mobile, the BBC Sport app and Connected TV. Click for more details. |
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot won their doubles rubber to give Great Britain a 2-1 lead over Serbia in their Davis Cup quarter-final in Belgrade.
The Britons beat Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4.
Earlier, James Ward lost 6-1 6-3 6-2 against Dusan Lajovic in their singles match, which was delayed from Friday.
Kyle Edmund, who won his singles match on Friday, can seal victory for Great Britain when he faces Lajovic on Sunday at 14:00 BST.
Britain are aiming to become the sixth team to defend the Davis Cup title, after they won it in Belgium last year.
Murray was partnering Inglot after his brother Andy, with whom he has won all five of his previous Davis Cup doubles matches, decided to sit out the tie.
The British pair started strongly and raced into an early lead against their Serb opponents, who were playing together for the first time.
Despite the Britons having chances to break in the second set, the Serbs improved to level, but Inglot and Murray recovered to put their team within one rubber of the semi-finals.
Inglot, who sealed his first Davis Cup win with the victory after serving out the third and fourth sets, said: “It is great to feel like I have finally put a rubber in for the team.
“Serving out was a little nerve-wracking but with Jamie at the net you know he will help you out. He deserves a lot of credit.”
Murray added: “It was unfortunate we lost the second set but we kept getting the ball back on return and then the breaks of serve helped us.
“We’re really happy to have that win going into Sunday.”
Team captain Leon Smith picked out the Inglot serve as a key in the match.
“It’s great for Dom to have his first Davis Cup victory,” Smith added. “Jamie is really experienced now and it’s great that we can rely on him to come out and do what he does.”
Ward was a late inclusion in the British squad after replacing Andy Murray but he lost in one hour and 52 minutes against a player ranked 159 places above him, at 81st in the world.
The 29-year-old, whose ranking has dropped after he was inside the world’s top 100 this time last year, was broken in the first game of the match and struggled throughout against the highest-ranked player in Serbia’s squad.
In a match postponed on Friday – and again delayed on Saturday because of rain – Ward made 73 errors and hit just 12 winners compared to Lajovic’s 23.
Ward said: “It’s one of the heaviest clay courts I’ve ever played on.
“It definitely doesn’t suit my game. But he was very good today. The tactics we had set up were pretty much completely opposite to everything he did in the first set, which is credit to him.”
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Former Great Britain Davis Cup captain John Lloyd:
Murray and Inglot just started to combine well. Inglot wasn’t returning that well but they came together when it mattered. They didn’t play great, it wasn’t spectacular, but they got the job done.
It looked like a regulation doubles win (during the second set). They should have been up 2-0 and then it was getting a bit dodgy and I was getting a bit nervous. The class came through at the end and that is what good pairs do.
Even if James Ward had played at his best, he would have struggled in his match – but you could see he just didn’t have confidence.
He made so many unforced errors. You could see he wasn’t sure what to do on the court. He was outclassed.
Victory for Great Britain would see them face Argentina or Italy in the semi-final.
Argentina lead 2-1 after the second day in Pesaro, Italy, thanks to a five-set victory for Juan Martin Del Potro and Guido Pella over Fabio Fognini and Paolo Lorenzi.
Elsewhere, France – featuring Wimbledon doubles champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, as well as singles quarter-finalists Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – lead the Czech Republic 2-1.
The United States lead Croatia 2-0 after Jack Sock came from two sets behind to beat Marin Cilic in their singles match, with the doubles to be played later on Saturday.
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World number eight Tomas Berdych has pulled out of next month’s Olympic Games in Rio because of concerns about the Zika virus.
Berdych, 25, lost in the Wimbledon semi-final to eventual winner Andy Murray earlier this month.
“It was a hard decision for me to take after a long and painstaking discussion with my dearest,” said Berdych.
The Czech is the third tennis player after Simona Halep and Milos Raonic to withdraw from the Olympics.
More than 20 male players have withdrawn from the golf competition at Rio 2016, with many concerned about the mosquito-borne virus Zika, which is linked to brain deformities in newborn babies.
Berdych said on Twitter: “It is purely my personal decision but I still feel a need to give at least one of the serious reasons leading to this step to my supporters and fans.
“It is because of the Zika virus spread in the country of the Olympics. As I have founded a family recently, to limit health risks towards my nearest is the utmost priority.
“I apologise to all of you who are disappointed by my decision. I do believe that if you take a deeper account of my reasons you will understand that I have done it out of the responsibility for my family.”
The United States’ John Isner has pulled out to focus on his preparations for tour events, while Nick Kyrgios will not be involved because of a dispute with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
Great Britain’s James Ward loses in straight sets to Dusan Lajovic as Serbia draw level at 1-1 in the Davis Cup quarter-final in Belgrade.
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WATCH MORE: Kyle Edmund gives GB Davis Cup lead
Watch live coverage of the Davis Cup on BBC One, the BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app from 13:45 BST on Sunday, 17 July.
SERBIA 0, GREAT BRITAIN 1
Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade, SRB (clay – outdoor)
#NextGen star Kyle Edmund, under the watchful eye of British No. 1 Andy Murray, made short work of Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic in the first rubber, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 to put the visiting team ahead. Edmund was unaffected by the heavy, rainy conditions in Belgrade and dismissed Tipsarevic in under two hours.
ITALY 0, ARGENTINA 1
Venue: Circolo Tennis Baratoff, Pesaro, ITA (clay – outdoor)
Federico Delbonis defeated Andreas Seppi 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in three hours and 38 minutes to open the Italy-Argentina Davis Cup quarter-final tie. Delbonis, 25, struck seven aces and won 73 per cent of first-serve points against the Italian. The left-hander avenges his loss to Seppi from their only other tour-level encounter (2014 Winston-Salem R32).
CZECH REPUBLIC 1, FRANCE 1
Venue: Werk Arena, Trinec, CZE (hard – indoor)
Lukas Rosol saved two match points against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to claim the first rubber for the Czech flag 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 in a marathon that clocked in at three hours and 52 minutes. The 6’5″ Rosol fought off match points while the Frenchman served at 6-5 and 8-7 in the fourth-set tie-break. In his Davis Cup World Group debut, youngster Luca Pouille evened the tie with a 7-6(2), 6-4, 7-5 win over Czech Jiri Vesely.
USA 2, CROATIA 0
Venue: Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Portland, USA (hard – outdoor)
Jack Sock surged back from two sets down to deny former US Open champion Marin Cilic 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a three hour, 13-minute encounter to give the hosts the early lead. Cilic looked to have reclaimed control at 3-0 at the deciding set only for Sock to bounce back, taking six of the last seven games. John Isner put the Americans 2-0 up when he posted a more routine 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 result over #NextGen star Borna Coric in the second rubber.