Britain wraps up Davis Cup tie
The rebirth of Great Britain as a major player in the World Group may still be a pipedream but at least the nightmare of the final ignominy has been avoided too.
Great Britain gained their first victory in the competition for nearly three years when Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski beat Turkey's Haluk Akkoyun and Ergun Zorlu 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in their doubles rubber to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the tie at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne.
Leon Smith, the new Davis Cup captain, came into this tie with Britain on a five-match losing run, and facing yet another humiliation of finally hitting the rock bottom of the Europe/Africa Zone Group III; the lowest tier of the competition. This success cannot paper over the gaping cracks of how a country that stages the most prestigious tournament in the world can have fallen to such abject levels in the premier team competition. But at least it provides some sort of foundation on which to build for the future.
Whether that future includes Andy Murray, the British No.1, who is not available for section at present is also a question that needs to be resolved but at least there are British male players who are now on nodding terms with success in the Davis Cup. Be thankful for small mercies.
After the first day victories for James Ward and Jamie Baker it was the turn of Fleming and Skupski to maintain that winning momentum. Their cause was aided when Marsel Ilhan, the Turkish No.1, withdrew from the doubles to be replaced by Zorlu, meaning the top-50 ranked British pair were facing two players ranked outside the top 1,000.
The British pair were in control from early on in the rubber and the only way that their opponents seemed to be able to fight back was when a smash from Zorlu hit Skupski on the side of the head. Aside from that the home team were rarely threatened as they wrapped the rubber up in an one hour and 45 minutes.
"We've had a great week, preparing ourselves as well as possible, and we had to go out there and do a job. The guys put us in a great position yesterday, and we were able to do that today," Skupski said.
"It's just a real enjoyment in playing Davis Cup and winning." said Fleming. "Winning as an individual doesn't compare to winning as a team. To have won feels unreal, it's great. It creates a great feeling for the team and I'm already looking forward to the next tie. We all have to go out and improve our rankings because who wouldn't want to be in that team."
The victory was Britain's first since September 2007, when they beat Croatia won a place in the World Group. That is still some way off but it is a start at least.
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