Andy Murray, well-rested and chosen ahead of Jack Draper, Great Britain’s hero from their previous victory over Australia, backed up captain Leon Smith’s tendency to shuffle the playing pack by producing his best tennis against Switzerland in their Davis Cup tie at the Manchester Arena.
His performance, coupled with a doubles victory and sandwiched by a Cameron Norrie loss to Stan Wawrinka, provided his nation with a 2-1 lead over Switzerland. Great Britain may need a helping hand from Switzerland to reach the quarterfinals of this year’s country-vs.-country extravaganza, but a third victory for Andy Murray and his compatriots is good enough to ensure progress.
Andy Murray beats Leandro Riedi in the Davis Cup
Andy Murray bounced back from a set down to triumph over Swiss tennis player Leandro Riedi 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 on a cool Manchester night.
After swapping the singles’ contingent from their previous tie for Murray and Norrie, Leon Smith and Andy Murray themselves were dealt with a Swiss surprise. Andy had been sparring with left-handers all week with the knowledge that he would face Swiss no.2 Dominic Stricker. Instead, Switzerland opted to field world no.152 and former junior Roland Garros finalist Leandro Riedi.
Riedi displayed incredible forehand prowess and an attacking mentality as he sealed the first set in his favour after being 2-5 down. He had saved four set points in the process. Andy Murray took time to tweak his game and progressively relied on his length and pace in his strokes to see him through to victory in three sets.
This match was Andy Murray’s second Davis Cup singles clash since 2016. The 36-year-old improved his tournament record to a staggering 33-3.
Andy Murray dedicates Davis Cup win to his late grandmother
Murray was teary-eyed in his post-match interview, where he revealed to the partisan crowd that the funeral of his paternal grandmother, Ellen, had taken place on the same day.
“Today is a tough day for me; it’s actually my gran’s funeral,” Murray said. “I’m sorry to my family that I’m not able to be there. Gran, that one is for you.”
Murray had to repeatedly pause and turn his face away from the mic as he wasn’t able to hold back his feelings about missing out on his grandmother’s parting ceremony.
Murray later revealed that the bereavement had not been revealed to his captain, as he wanted to play with encouragement from his father, William.
“I spoke to my dad about it and he said: ‘She would want you to play.’ He just said ‘make sure you win’, so I did.”, he said.
His captain was appreciative of the veteran’s mental toughness.
“It just shows his strength of character to do what he did today – I’m sure that was a tough one for him to miss. All you can say is what he then goes out and does is really quite incredible.”, Leon Smith told reporters.
Great Britain may be forced into another round, where a victory would see them book their flight to Malaga, Spain, for the knockout stages. Given Leon Smith’s knack for resting and rotating his squad, it will have to be seen if Andy Murray will get to play next time.
At 36 years of age, Andy Murray is showing the world he can deliver quality tennis, despite calls for his retirement ringing in his ears. Will the Brit stage a comeback next season and win major tournaments? Let us know in the comments section below.
