The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsBernard Tomic has evened up the Davis Cup semi-final tie between Great Britain and Australia after he overcame a battling Dan Evans in four sets. Earlier, Andy Murray produced a masterclass to ease past Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets and give GB the perfect start.
The first singles match of the day saw Andy Murray take on the rising star Thanasi Kokkinakis as the semi-final stage got underway in Glasgow. In the opening set, Kokkinakis was under pressure in his service games as Murray crafted several break points. Even though the Australian showed tremendous resistance to keep the scoreline level, Murray finally made the breakthrough at 3-2 when Kokkinakis placed a forehand wide. The Brit continued his dominance on serve, and comfortably maintained the lead to clinch the set with an ace.
The second set saw Murray increase his momentum and a scorching backhand return sealed the early break. The Brit used his incredible defensive skills to force his opponent to earn every point and the pressure was too much for the Australian, as Murray capitalised to establish the double break advantage. The world number three was ruthless and Kokkinakis conceded his serve once again following a series of scintillating winners from Murray. The Brit continued his offensive onslaught and he quickly wrapped up the second set with another powerful backhand winner to ensure that the Australian would not win a single game.
In the third set, Kokkinakis once again faced a stiff challenge in the opening game, but this time the Australian responded to just hold onto his serve. However, it proved to be only a brief respite for Kokkinakis as Murray seized the break with a forehand return winner to take control of the match. The Brit continued to cruise through his service games as the Australian was simply unable to gain a foothold back into the contest. Murray was in sparkling form, and he crushed yet another backhand return winner to break again, and as a result complete a convincing 6-3 6-0 6-3 win.
The next singles rubber was between Dan Evans and Bernard Tomic, as this match had become a must-win for Australia given Murray’s win. Tomic appeared to be relatively comfortable when he easily took the first set and led the second set with a break, but Evans roared back with some inspirational tennis to eventually force a tie-break. But, Tomic held his nerve as the Brit produced a few unforced errors, and the Australian capitalised to establish a two set lead.
As the third set unfolded, Tomic gained an early break, and he maintained his lead to serve for the match. But Evans dug deep once again with some great attacking play to recover the deficit and take the set to another tie-break. This time, Evans continued his outstanding form, and a delightful drop-shot helped him eventually secure the third set in dramatic fashion, much to the delight of the crowd.
In the early stages of the fourth set, the Australian quickly regained his focus and he took advantage of an error strewn game from Evans to break his opponent in the opening game. Even though the Brit refused to lie down and continued to test Tomic, the Australian’s resistance was eventually rewarded when he broke again to establish the double break lead. But, once again, Tomic was unable to close the match out at 5-2 as Ward conjured some superb tennis to recover one of the breaks and keep the match alive. However, serving at 5-4, with both men physically suffering, it was the Australian who was able to wear his opponent down, as Tomic finally clinched a hard-fought 6-3 7-6 6-7 6-4 victory.
