Murrays put Great Britain on verge of Davis Cup title

Andy Murray, shown at Indian Wells in March, can give
Great Britain its first Davis Cup title in 79 years today.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two years ago, Andy Murray ended one British drought.
   Today, he can stop another.
   Murray and his older brother, Jamie, outclassed David Goffin and Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to give Great Britain a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five-match Davis Cup final on indoor clay in Ghent, Belgium.
   Murray, ranked second, can give his country its first Davis Cup title in 79 years with a victory over Goffin, ranked 16th, in today's first singles match (4 a.m. California time, Tennis Channel).
   Kyle Edmund, who made his Davis Cup debut at 20 in a five-set loss to Goffin on Friday, is scheduled to play left-handed veteran Ruben Bemelmans in the last match.
   Andy Murray in 2013 became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Fred Perry had been the last one, in 1936. That also was the last year Great Britain has captured the Davis Cup. Belgium has never won the prestigious team competition.
   The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Goffin has not won a set in two matches against the 6-foot-3 (1.90-meter) Murray, who crushed the Belgian 6-1, 6-0 three weeks ago in the third round in Paris.
   This will be their first match on clay, but that's little consolation for Goffin. Murray is 28-8 in the French Open on clay, and Goffin is 5-4.
   Murray won three titles early in his career in Northern California. He captured the Aptos Challenger 10 years ago at 18 and the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose on the ATP World Tour in 2006 and 2007.