Davis Cup, Canada v Great Britain: Jamie Murray & Dom Inglot win doubles
| Davis Cup: Canada v Great Britain |
|---|
| Venue: TD Place Arena, Ottawa Dates: 3-5 Feb Time: 17:00 GMT on Sunday |
| Sunday’s coverage: Watch live on BBC Red Button, Connected TV and online from 17:00, plus follow text updates on the BBC Sport website. |
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot put Great Britain 2-1 up against Canada with victory in Saturday’s Davis Cup doubles contest in Ottawa.
The British pair beat Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to edge the visitors ahead in the best-of-five World Group tie.
Dan Evans will play Pospisil in Sunday’s fourth rubber, before Kyle Edmund faces Denis Shapovalov.
The winners of the tie will travel to France for the quarter-finals in April.
- BBC coverage: Davis Cup TV and online times
“Both teams knew how important this match was to give them a lead going into Sunday,” said Murray.
“It was 50/50 going into the match. We knew it would be a close game because of the surface, how everyone was serving on the court and because we all know how to play doubles.”
Captain Leon Smith said: “There’s still a lot of tennis. We’ve been in these situations before. The good thing is it gives you two cracks at it and gives everyone a lot of confidence.
“It does feel good going into the team room, it feels like the momentum is with you, and we’ve got two very good players that we can prepare for Sunday.”
Both Britain and Canada are without their leading players, as world number one Andy Murray recuperates after the Australian Open and number four Milos Raonic is injured.
British pair too clinical for Canada
Pospisil’s surprise win over Edmund in the second singles on Friday had given Canada a huge boost, but Britain took back control of the tie over the course of three hours with a clinical performance.
On the fast indoor surface there was only one break of serve apiece, and three tie-breaks were required, but the final break-point tally stood at 10-2 in favour of the Britons.
In 44-year-old Nestor, playing his 50th Davis Cup tie, Canada had one of the most successful doubles players in history alongside Pospisil, himself a former Wimbledon doubles champion.
The Canadian pair had the edge in rankings but after the opening two sets were shared in tie-breaks, it was Scotland’s Murray and Englishman Inglot who began to take charge.
Three break points went begging in the third set, before they were gifted a mini-break in the tie-break thanks to a Pospisil double fault, and Inglot in particular forced home the advantage.
Pospisil, who had served superbly for three sets, was now the one under pressure and he succumbed in the fourth set to give Britain a decisive lead.
It was Inglot, the man of the match, who coolly served out to put Britain within sight of their fourth Davis Cup quarter-final in a row.
“As the match went on we started to start the points better and make a few returns. And I think they got a bit tired as well,” said Murray.
“The surface was not easy, it was hard on the joints. Vasek played yesterday and Daniel is older than us, so there was no excuse for us not to outlast them.
“We did a great job, we stayed strong in the important moments. It was fine margins.”
Analysis
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent:
Murray has now won seven rubbers in a row in the Davis Cup and he was very ably supported by Inglot, in what may have been his best display yet in British colours. The visitors were sharper in the key moments, and are in a strong position heading into Sunday’s singles.
A quarter-final in France in the first week of April beckons if Britain can win one one more point. Dan Evans has first use of the slick court against Vasek Pospisil: both have been in good form, and both will enjoy the surface.
It would be a third match in three days for the Canadian, but he is taking pain killers for a knee injury and when he spoke after Saturday’s doubles did not sound overly confident about his chances of playing.