Davis Cup: Kyle Edmund win seals GB victory over Serbia
Kyle Edmund took Great Britain into the Davis Cup semi-finals with victory over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in Belgrade.
Edmund, who also won Friday’s opening singles match, won 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot won Saturday’s doubles match before Edmund sealed the win in two hours 34 minutes against the Serb world number 81.
Britain will now play Argentina at home in September as they aim to defend the title they won in Belgium last year.
Edmund, 21, was making just his second Davis Cup appearance and playing as Britain’s top ranked singles player as Andy Murray chose to sit out the tie after he won Wimbledon.
The win was the first time Britain have won a World Group Davis Cup match without their number one ranked player.
Facing the highest ranked player in Serbia’s squad, Edmund produced one of the best performances of his career hitting 27 forehand winners and 39 in total on a slow clay court due to rain in the Serbian capital.
Edmund, the world number 67, served for the match at 5-4 but Lajovic broke back before the Yorkshireman rallied to take the match on a tie-break.
“You want to win for your country. When you know what is at stake – I’m so pleased that I’ve won,” Edmund said.
“When you’re out there you are in the moment and trying to win every point. Lajovic missed the backhand down the line – when you see that you feel so happy.
“When you play away, and the home player gains momentum the crowd bite into that. The crowd got louder and louder. It was tough getting broken.”
Team captain Leon Smith, who has now won 14 of his 16 Davis Cup matches, said: “I have seen Kyle develop a lot.
“We saw what he did to David Goffin (taking the Belgian to five sets in the 2015 Davis Cup final) and this year he has been getting better and better. His backhand is now rock solid, the serve and the forehand is an unbelievable shot.
“He will take a lot from being able to win two five-set matches under this pressure.
“Hats off to Kyle. To get your first Davis Cup win is something, to get two in one weekend is something very special indeed.”
You can now add tennis alerts in the BBC Sport app – simply head to the menu and My Alerts section