Scots tennis stars run riot in front of Glasgow crowd

Great Britain's Davis Cup team last month secured promotion to the second tier of the tournament after an emphatic 5-0 defeat of Hungary in front of a boisterous Glasgow crowd.

The city has given itself every chance of becoming a regular host of Davis Cup ties after thousands of fans again turned out to support the team.

Andy Murray was the star attraction at the Braehead Arena, but it was down to his teammate James Ward to provide the opening day drama as he battled to a four-set victory over Attila Balazs.

The 24-year-old Londoner looked to be in control after edging the first two sets, but struggled with sickness and cramp as his Hungarian opponent got a foothold in the match by taking the third set.

Ward looked visibly uncomfortable on court in the fourth but regained his composure and eventually sealed a 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory.

After the match Ward revealed the reasons for his discomfort and just how close he came to forfeiting the match. “I was sick big time," he said. I had to leave the court and a lot came up. I’ve never been sick before in a match so that was a strange feeling.

“I had to come straight back or I would have defaulted. I think it was down to the tension and wanting to win so much. You’re playing for your country and you’ve got to keep fighting.”

Sebo Kiss – a law student who only plays tennis part-time – was expected to be overwhelmed by Andy Murray in the second rubber of the tie. And a repeat of Murray’s 6-0 6-0 6-0 win over Luxembourg’s Laurent Bram in a Davis Cup tie earlier this year looked probable when Murray raced to the first set 6-0 in just 17 minutes.

Kiss, however, turned on the style and made Murray work hard for the win, which he eventually claimed 6-0 6-2 7-6.

The result left Hungary needing to win the remaining three ties to progress and they were put out of their misery when Ross Hutchins and Colin Fleming triumphed in the doubles rubber to give Great Britain an unassailable 3-0 lead.

The pair enjoyed a very successful summer season by reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open and closed out a 6-3 6-4 6-4 over Kornel Bardoczky and Attila Balazs in just under two hours.

A weary looking Murray returned to the court for the first dead rubber the final day of the competition but failed to look his usual self as he laboured to a 7-6 6-3 win over Gyorgy Balazs, a player ranked 484th in the world.

The world number four said afterwards: “I wanted to play. I think it was the right thing to do, but once I got out there I didn’t feel great.”

Much of the talk after Murray’s match centred on what changes he would like to see made to the professional tennis calendar, and the players are expected to meet to discuss their options at this month's Shanghai Masters.

Fleming, of Linlithgow, was then given the opportunity to play in the final singles rubber for Britain as Ward recovered from his first match and the other singles player in the squad, Glasgow’s Jamie Baker, travelled to Turkey for a challenger tournament.

The 27-year-old does not normally compete in singles events and was clearly delighted to be given the nod to face Kiss in front of the Scottish crowd. He completed the 5-0 rout for team GB with a 6-4 6-3 win and then thanked supporters in his post-match interview for their great support over the weekend.

Fleming said: “It was a proud moment for me to come and play singles in the Davis Cup. It was a dead rubber, but to come and play in Scotland, it was great.”

The Brits will now host Slovakia in the first round of the Europe/Africa zone group I next February, with the venue to be decided at a later date. However, after two visits to Glasgow and two emphatic wins backed by a passionate crowd, Braehead is surely in line for a third consecutive tie.

Speaking after the draw, team captain Leon Smith told the BBC: “We know next year will be a big step up. With another home tie we’ll be able to use the crowd to our advantage, which will be really important if we’re to get off to a good start.

"We wanted to get promotion so that we could play the stronger nations, really test ourselves and show that we can progress within the competition.”