Troubled doubles triumph in Davis Cup tie

Published on Friday 4 March 2011 14:14

IT wasn't as easy as anticipated but very little is when it comes to Great British tennis. Up against Tunisia, a country almost 40 places below them in the world rankings, the host nation were seeking a comfortable doubles win to nudge them into a 2-1 lead going into the final day of this Davis Cup tie.

With matters all square after the opening day's singles rubbers, the British pairing made heavier weather of things than many had predicted, though. Well in control throughout the first set, breaking their opponents' serve in the second and sixth games, they eventually steam-rollered them 6-1. As far as portents go, it served as an accurate gauge of who would win the tie, but gave no hint at just how tricky it would prove.

In front of a noisy crowd and with the first set neatly tucked away, Scots Colin Fleming and Jamie Murray seemed well on course to wrap matters up swiftly until a loss of focus and some inconsistent service matches gifted the Tunisians a way back into the Europe/Africa Group II tussle.

"We won the first set and we played pretty well and then, in the second, we were 0-40 up on them but they came back to win that and I think that gave them a lot of belief," said Fleming. Having saved three break points in that game - the third of the second set - the Tunisian duo came back at their hosts and, aided and abetted by a poor trio of points from Murray at the net and a slack shot from Fleming, they broke the latter's serve to move into a 4-2 lead and eventually won the set 6-3.

"It was tougher than we maybe expected," conceded team captain Leon Smith. "Their young guy, (18 year-old Slim Hamza] played very well and made a lot of good backhands and we saw once again that (Malek] Jaziri is a pretty talented player. But the boys responded well and showed why they were the doubles pick out there."

The GB pairing, who are both ranked among the world's top 100 doubles players, had been firm favourites and they ultimately ground out the result winning the next two sets 6-3, 6-4, to wrap matters up in two hours and 22 minutes, albeit after wobbles in the third and fourth sets.

They broke their opponents in the second game of the third set but the advantage was immediately cancelled out. At that stage neither side could hold their serve and Britain broke again, winning the fourth game to love.

It was getting silly at that point, with a fourth consecutive break looming but two saved break points by Fleming in the fifth game gave Britain the cushion they needed and they eventually won that set 6-3.

Fleming gifted the Tunisians a 3-0 lead in the fourth, though, with a double fault, before, thankfully, the Great Britain serve clicked into gear again. Both players were able to hold to love either side of a fifth game break of Jaziri's serve and, when they converted their second break point in the ninth game, they only had to serve out for the match, Fleming taking the honours, whipping out an ace to seal the triumph.

"That probably wasn't my best performance," admitted Murray, "but even when things were getting closer, in the third and fourth sets, we didn't think we would lose. Their guys played well for them and probably better than we expected but we came through in the end."

It leaves Britain requiring victory from just one of today's singles head to heads to take them through to their next tie against either Ireland or Luxembourg in July and stave off the threat of a relegation play-off for the second successive year.

The first match on court today will be the keenly-anticipated encounter between the top single protagonists in each team, James Ward and Jaziri, who is the only man ranked within the top 1,000 in the visiting team. However, having battled back from a couple of years of injury trouble, he is now back in the kind of form which once had him nestled around 280 in the world. He impressed in both his first singles outing, beating Jamie Baker in four sets, and yesterday's doubles showing.

Smith suggested that first rubber could be a tight affair, labelling it a tight 50-50, which means it could come down to a fifth match decider.

At it stands, that is billed to feature Baker against Sami Ghorbel, but, given the Tunisian's dismantling at the hands of Ward in the opening day, when he was battered in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, 6-0, and his countryman Hamza's performance yesterday after a jittery start in his Davis Cup debut, there is speculation that the guests could make a late switch.

"It wouldn't surprise me," said Smith.

"It will depend how their guy Ghorbel feels, because he got pretty beaten up by James Ward but the one today was much better than the one who played against James."