Great Britain - Davis Cup Champions

[klacr]

Andy Murray did it. Remarkable accomplishment for Great Britain and captain Leon Smith. Even more remarkable that it Was Andy that single handily carried the GB team on his back with a honorable assist from his brother Jamie in the doubles.

After Murray, there is a huge drop off in talent on the GB team, but nonetheless, they still managed.
Murray checking another item off bucket list.
Won his favorite slam - US Open. CHECK
Satisfied British desires for a UK Wimbledon Champ after Fred Perry. Check
Murray winning Davis Cup for Great Britain. Check

Expect Murray to use this as motivation and a springboard into 2016. Next on his bucket list. #1 ranking. Huge mountain to climb, but if GB could win Davis Cup, anything is possible.

I know many people have lost interest in Davis Cup and the reasons are understandable. But it's still an awesome competition. Belgium performed admirably and took advantage of their draw the entire year.

Congrats Stotty on your United Kingdom taking the Cup. Team GB in 2015. Cheers!!!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[eaglesburg]

I like Murray. I hope he makes it to #1.

[nickw]

Very well put Kyle, it's a strange feeling over here having won this thing, trying to balance out the enormity of the achievement with the reality that it was pretty much down to one man, and may well not provide any lasting legacy.

Would there be a different feeling if we had won this competition having been able to use a pool of Top 50 players, or is a win a win regardless?

I look forward to hear Stotty's views on our big triumph.

[klacr]

Very well put Kyle, it's a strange feeling over here having won this thing, trying to balance out the enormity of the achievement with the reality that it was pretty much down to one man, and may well not provide any lasting legacy.

Would there be a different feeling if we had won this competition having been able to use a pool of Top 50 players, or is a win a win regardless?

I look forward to hear Stotty's views on our big triumph.

A win is a win is a win!
Whether it took 15 guys or just one man. Andy Murray went undefeated in Davis Cup the whole season, even playing doubles. Best of 5 set matches under the raucous Davis Cup atmosphere 3 straight days is not easy.

I hope it jump starts a boost for tennis in the UK. Every Murray milestone the whispers of a tennis boom are heard, but then it seems to fizzle out. The LTA needs to capitalize on this historic achievement.


Credit to Belgium for being excellent hosts, keeping this tie safe amidst the chaos happening in the world and for delighting us with magnificent and inspiring play throughout the year. Doubles was quite the entertaining match. Belgians are quite the shotmakers. Too bad Steve Darcis lost his way towards the end of that match. Gorgeous strokes. Fine one handed backhand. David Goffin is a nifty little player. A bit like Gilles Simon but with more firepower.


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[nickw]

I hope it jump starts a boost for tennis in the UK. Every Murray milestone the whispers of a tennis boom are heard, but then it seems to fizzle out. The LTA needs to capitalize on this historic achievement.

Fair comments, and the above sums up implications for British tennis very well!

[johnyandell]

Nick,

You are not going to claim because of the Davis Cup that Scots are now viewed as the equal of the English now are you? I think it's funny because every time I have been in London, Scotland has been viewed like some primitive third world culture...I mean you guys butchered each other for centuries and then cut off the head of a Scottish King.

[stotty]

William Wallace, Andy Murray...and little old James Ward.

Actually the Brits don't view the Scots as negatively as the Scots view us. The Scots can be very anomostic towards us at times. It dates back to William Wallace who was hung, drawn and quartered in 1305 by the English king of the day. Wallace's head was placed on London Bridge, and his limbs displayed in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling and Perth. It's tough to get over your national hero having that done to him. The Scots have never forgiven us deep in their subconscious....life was brutal back then.

When you are the victors, as we were, you don't view your opponents so harshly years later. And of course the Scots were outnumbered 5-1 by the English in many battles...underdogs those Scots certainly were.

I guess you could say Scotland won the Davis Cup. Or to narrow it down even further: Dunblane won the Davis Cup!

But, yes, it is a one man team. I didn't see all the doubles, but Murray certainly completely took over from what I saw. And he was outstanding in his singles, though the opposition wasn't much for him. How did they get to the final!

Actually back in 1978, when we lost to the US, we had a better all round team...more depth. John Lloyd and Buster Mottram were the singles players, and Mark Cox and David Lloyd played the doubles. Tony Lloyd also went as a travelling reserve. We basically had four decent players back then where as now we just rely on Murray. It's tough on Murray as he has to win everything.

The Lloyd brothers became cheesed off with Murray some time ago because Murray would often be unavailable when John Lloyd was Davis Cup captain. John Lloyd played Davis Cup for 11 straight and took the event as an honour, as did David Lloyd. When Murray opted not to play at key times it riled them.

James Ward beating Isner in the earlier rounds was key for us. Without that win, we wouldn't have made it to the final. You see, it was all down to an Englishman...

[nickw]

Haha John, but yes Stotty is right that the bad feeling flows much more from them to us than the other way around! Perhaps you could even say Spain won this Davis Cup, as the most significant part of Murray's junior development was conducted at the Sanchez Casal academy. Sadly, whatever way you look at it, not much credit goes back to England.

Great summary though by Stotty, and I agree James Ward made a massive contribution. IMO, he should have played against the Aussies, and in the first rubber in Gent. He's proven himself on the Davis Cup stage, and over 5-set matches, neither of which Edmund has. And Dan Evans being picked to play Tomic on account of having beaten him 2 years previous was not justified when we had Ward. Anyone who saw that match at the Open would know that it was one of Tomic's less intense efforts, and Evans was only just coming out of a long-term slump before the semi-final tie. They said Ward's form wasn't good enough to be picked, but it wasn't as if he was ripping up the tour before he beat Querrey on clay in the US, and Isner in THAT match. He's proven himself on the DC stage regardless of current form on the tour. But anyway, the selection decisions from the last 2 ties, right or wrong, became insignificant thanks to the excellence of Andy Murray.

And another thought, thank goodness Bedene wasn't given permission to play in the final.

[klacr]

Let's keep things in perspective...
You brits should celebrate the team accomplishment and you have every right to.

But...and I may be slightly bias here as you know who I root for so...

Number of Davis Cup Titles:
Andy Murray - 1
Tomas Berdych - 2

Gotta catch up.

Just sayin'

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton