Davis Cup - Britain on brink after doubles defeat

Eurosport - Sun, 20 Sep 13:30:00 2009

Great Britain face relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group Two of the Davis Cup after Andy Murray and Ross Hutchins lost the doubles rubber to Poland in Liverpool.

TENNIS 2009 Murray - 0

Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg held their nerve to win 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-2 to put Poland in a commanding position at 2-1 up in the tie with Britain facing an arduous task to overturn the deficit.

The defeat leaves the hosts requiring victories in both singles rubbers on Sunday with 19-year-old Dan Evans needing to overcome Michal Przysiezny in a potential decider.

The Poles played the big points better than their opponents and were clinical in closing out the final two sets with the match finely poised.

Hutchins double-faulted at 5-6 down in the opening set to hand his opponents the crucial break, and Fyrstenberg served out the set nervelessly.

A stunning pass from Murray down the line levelled up the match as Matkowski's serve was broken at 5-3 in the second set, and the home crowd sensed that the match could be heading Britain's way.

But it was Murray whose serve let him down under pressure in the third set and Fystenberg forced the error with the second break point.

Matkowski served out the third set with consummate ease, holding to 15 and not affording the British pair any glimmer of an opportunity.

The fourth set was much like the third with Murray's serve being ruthlessly attacked by the Polish pair with two breaks forced.

A Fyrstenberg volley brought up two break points and Hutchins made a hash of a drop shot at the net with Matkowski slamming a forehand down the line.

The second break sunk British hopes with an exquisite lob from Matkowski giving Poland 0-30 with Murray hitting a backhand long at 15-30 to hand his opponents the match.

"It was a strange match, I can't even begin to count how many break points, but we didn't take our chances," British captain John Lloyd told the BBC.

"You could see the difference with a pair who play together week in week out. On the big points they were too tough.

The hosts now require a sterling effort from Evans.

"All along I thought it might come down to the fifth match. Hopefully Andy will be okay and go out and win his match and it will come down to the fifth," Lloyd added.

"It's not easy but Dan's a good player. He's got a good spirit about him and I think he'll come through."

Eurosport

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  1. Must be another AJ as message 32 not from me.
    Its such­ a shame that we only have Andy Murray to rely on where­ is Jamie Murray then.
    I think we will go out today as­ Andy injured.

    From AJ, on Sun 20 Sep 12:51PM

  2. Shame they lost , Andy and Ross were always going to ­ have to pull something extraordinary out of the bag to­ win this. Ross Hutchins has much better form than Jamie­ Murray so of course he wasn't playing with Andy.­ Ross is nr 37 in the doubles ranking , is no loser and­ a brilliant player coming along nicely.

    From jon60p, on Sun 20 Sep 12:33PM

  3. its a shame they lost. i don't support Murray but­ it would have been nice if GB got through. and jamie­ Murray should have partnered Andy

    From sahinakhatun, on Sun 20 Sep 10:52AM

  4. Rob: You sound like ANOTHER bitter Englishman to me.­ All because you are dumb enough to believe what your­ vile press write that Andy hates England. He lives­ there, support Wolves, has an English girlfriend etc­ etc etc.
    Regardless of his current, past or future­ ranking, he has won more than ANY Brittish player in­ the modern era before him. Murray is a talent that­ Britain should be proud of and unlikely to ever see­ again.
    Away to church and pretend you are not full of­ hate and rage you pathetic little man.

    From crispyduck, on Sun 20 Sep 10:14AM

  5. Csaba,murray 's not really ugly,but he's always­ caught doing what he does best,open his mouth,which is­ better than being caught pants down,i'd say.

    From coolworld, on Sun 20 Sep 9:53AM

  6. marlon m,Murray is either the true number 1­ or,according to the true ATP ranking,the world number­ 3.
    Keep up,friend,he's not number 2 anymore

    From coolworld, on Sun 20 Sep 9:20AM

  7. This is what's wrong with the Davis cup and why it­ means absolutely nothing to most tennis fans.
    GB was­ playing Poland ? So what ? the two semis were being­ played at the same time,and we now have the two­ Finalists,Spain and Czech.Then what of Poland ? Playing­ for 5th place ? Playing to progress in the next­ year's Davis cup ? Don't give me answers,just­ tell me how many of you truly know without researching­ it,and how many of you truly care.
    To save the Davis­ Cup from oblivion,and make sense in an already­ overbooked calendar for most players,i suggest the­ Davis Cup is to be played every 4 years,like a world­ cup and maybe,just maybe,people will show up to support­ their team,not like the croats for example,which is­ just one of many examples just like it.

    From coolworld, on Sun 20 Sep 9:15AM

  8. Good luck to Poland I hope they win one singles match­ today as I don't like the British crowd they are so­ unfair and biased enough said.

    From AJ, on Sun 20 Sep 8:36AM

  9. you have got to feel for Murray a bit having to play­ with the absolute loosers around him but my god the­ other GB players make him look good.

    From Dave H, on Sun 20 Sep 6:54AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Pure snotty arrogance again. Poland - ha he thought­ (probably not even sure where it is on the map) Murray­ you arrived at number 2 by default. Now go back where­ you belong - way down no12

    From Rob, on Sun 20 Sep 5:24AM

  11. Don't like Andy Murray, but feel for him in the­ same way that I did for Tim and Gregg who also had to­ play for years with a bunch of complete losers!

    Must­ be easier to find just anybody off the street who can­ play better!

    It's about time, we gave up on the­ Davis cup; we simply don't have the quality in­ depth to compete.

    From mambles, on Sun 20 Sep 5:22AM

  12. I am sorry for Murray (not a real fan)but in this­ case- he has no chance playing with these no hopers -­ something should be done at grass roots - maybe a start­ would be to get rid of John lloyd. Anyone, Andy/Tim (at­ least he had Greg) should have some kind of support and­ not have to carry the team. Just look at­ Spain.Croatia,Serbia and France to name but a few to­ see what can be achieved - we need a change at the top­ before youngsters can come through. I truly believe­ that we have the talent ( and the funds) but they are­ not guided (used) in the right way because the people­ at the top are all ingrained in the wrong system and­ approach (all protecting their self interests!!). I was­ truly sorry when the powers that be rejected John­ McEnroe's offer to coach some youngsters. We­ certainly could have done with his knowledge and­ expertise of the game but, they ( the governing body) ­ live in the past and are not at all good at change. One­ very good example of great change and courage is­ cycling and rowing - tennis could do with the same­ ruthless approach.

    From Marion L, on Sun 20 Sep 2:09AM

  13. everybody says murray is ugly, no wonder if eurosport­ is putting pics like this one of the poor lad.

    From Csaba, on Sun 20 Sep 1:33AM

  14. "It's not easy but Dan's a good player.­ He's got a good spirit about him and I think­ he'll come through." Hahahahahahaha!! Yes,­ Lloyd, indeed? This is the simple truth: the match is­ over. Evans has not a chance in hell of winning his­ rubber, he will be outclassed at international level. ­ Britain simply does not have a second string player. ­ Only death and taxes are more certain than this.

    From Mark, on Sun 20 Sep 12:25AM

  15. No surprise Fyrstenberg/Matkowski won, they simply­ targeted Hutchins, Murray can't be blamed.

    From Chemical Ali, on Sun 20 Sep 12:05AM

  16. Why a lot of english hate Andy Murray? A) Because Andy­ is a Scot and he's 2nd in the world ranking?
    ­ ­ B) Because England got lousy tennis players?
    ­ ­ C) Because most English are just jealous of­ him?
    ­ D) All of the above?

    From marlon m, on Sat 19 Sep 11:48PM

  17. #20 -You pretend like you know lots of things about­ tennis, but the truth is, you talk nonsense!

    From marlon m, on Sat 19 Sep 11:35PM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Murray is an IDIOT and he can't respect when­ he's loosing own games, even on Wimbledon or today­ game, he can't accept that some one was better than­ him. The problem is his scottish but in tennis still­ playing like Great Britain Team with HUDGE £ BUDGET­ against some players like Polish lads from country­ where tennis is not very popular sport overall and they­ don't play and collect point's on lots of­ tournaments. So maybe for next few years we should put­ him to team like this and see how far he can get in ATP­ ranking!!!!

    From Novik, on Sat 19 Sep 10:57PM

  19. she looks very french? ha, wtf? hairy arm pits

    From leona, on Sat 19 Sep 10:54PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The ''true number one'' failed again to­ add value to the team. Why is it every time there is­ Murray there is always deception??

    From Half A Brain, on Sat 19 Sep 10:40PM
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