Murray sends GB into Davis Cup semis

Andy Murray has sealed Great Britain’s progress into the semi-finals of the Davis Cup as he defeated Gilles Simon 4-6 7-6 6-3 6-0. The world number three was forced to fight back from a set and a break down, but he eventually wore his injury hampered opponent down to earn the four set win.

In the first set, Simon made a fast start as a sweetly struck forehand winner down the line sealed an early break for a 2-1 lead. Murray produced quite a few uncharacteristic errors as the extended rallies favoured the Frenchman, but soon the drama unfolded as Simon was forced to receive medical treatment on his knee. When play resumed, both players were understandably nervous as the set reached its conclusion, but Simon somehow resisted the Brit to edge the set 6-4.

The second set saw Murray continue to produce an erratic display, and Simon took advantage to break serve. The Brit was on the brink of going down a double break deficit, but he dug deep and then outlasted Simon in a series of brutal rallies to finally retrieve the break. The set would go to a tie-break, and once again Murray summoned the strength to recover as it was Simon who had several opportunities to close it out. The Frenchman was punished, and an unreturnable serve from Murray was enough to level the match at one set apiece.

As the third set got underway, the Brit raced to a 3-0 lead with a double break advantage as he was able to break Simon down with his variety. Even though the Frenchman clawed one break back, Murray eventually held off the resistance from his opponent to break again with a perfect lob, sealing the set 6-3.

In the fourth set, Murray continued to build momentum and he seized the break when Simon unfortunately slipped over once again. When play resumed, the Brit was ruthless as he probed the defence of the injured Frenchman to stretch his lead further to a double break. The contest was very much over, and soon enough Murray completed the victory to end French hopes for this year.

So, Great Britain will now play Australia in the Davis Cup semis, as they eventually overturned a 2-0 deficit against Kazakhstan to win their decisive match through Lleyton Hewitt.