Edmund steps up to send GB into Davis Cup semifinals

Great Britain remain on course to defend their Davis Cup title, as Kyle Edmund defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-3 6-4 7-6 in Belgrade to seal victory over Serbia in the quarterfinals.

With Andy Murray’s decision to join the support team after opting out from participating in the tie due his recent Wimbledon success, Edmund was selected for the opening match and the young Brit eased past Janko Tipsarevic 6-3 6-4 6-0, giving GB the perfect start.

However, as rain forced the next singles match to be played on Saturday, Dusan Lajovic brought Serbia level by dispatching James Ward 6-1 6-3 6-2, before GB moved ahead again when Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot secured a four set victory against Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic in the doubles match.

Therefore, Edmund had the opportunity to clinch the win against Dusan Lajovic on Sunday, and the Brit dominated the contest early on with his serve and massive forehand, capitalising on a single break in both sets to open up a two set lead over his opponent. Even though Edmund established another break in the third set and served for the match at 5-4, the Serbian hit back to force a tiebreak but Edmund stood strong to eventually prevail and take GB into the semi-finals.

After, the dead singles match between Janko Tipsarevic and James Ward saw the Serbian complete a three set victory to reduce the deficit to 3-2.

In the semifinals, GB will host Argentina as Federico Delbonis beat Fabio Fognini to send Argentina through with a 3-1 win over Italy.