GREAT BRITAIN 1, AUSTRALIA 1
Glasgow, Scotland – Hard (Indoors)

World No. 3 Andy Murray gave Great Britain an early lead Friday when he defeated Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. He won 38 of his 41 first service points to improve to 24-2 lifetime in Davis Cup singles rubbers.

“I felt like I was aggressive the whole match,” Murray told Daviscup.com. “I had really good court position throughout and didn’t give Thanasi too many chances. That was important. I served well, but on a surface like this, that is not too fast, what’s important is what comes after the serve. I reacted quickly off his returns and got on the front foot in all the rallies.”

With his country down, Australian No. 1 Bernard Tomic needed 27 aces to fend off Daniel Evans in three hours to even the tie at one. The surprise call-up Evans, No. 300 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, earned 13 break points during the three-hour match. He broke back when Tomic served for the match and took the third set in a tie-break. Undeterred, Tomic went 2-for-5 on break points in the fourth set (5-for-14 overall) to improve his Davis Cup record to 15-2.

Australia, the 28-time titlist, has not reached the final for 12 years, while Great Britain’s drought stretches back to 1978 (l. to United States).