79 anos depois, Grã-Bretanha volta a conquistar a Davis Cup

Davis Cup Articles escreveu:Andy Murray fittingly clinched a first Davis Cup by BNP Paribas title for Great Britain since 1936 as the world No. 2 beat David Goffin in straight sets to secure victory in the final against Belgium.

Murray impressively finished the year unbeaten in 11 Davis Cup rubbers as he produced his best on Sunday to beat world No. 16 Goffin 63 75 63 in two hours and 54 minutes.

The victory sparked rapturous scenes amongst the British team and travelling support at the Flanders Expo as they celebrated a moment the country has been awaiting for 79 years when Fred Perry won the deciding rubber to beat Australia at Wimbledon.

Murray was fired up from the start in his 98th and final tour match of the season. After saving a break point in the fifth game, he created three break points of his own in the following game courtesy of some impressive defence and a stunning trademark backhand cross-court return put him 42 ahead.

Murray was in control from the back of the court and a double fault by Goffin gifted his opponent two set points. Both were saved before Goffin held but Murray had no issue in serving out the set as he put away a forehand winner.

British fans could be forgiven for thinking Davis Cup glory was inevitable at this point with Murray holding a 61-0 record after winning the first set in 2015, but Goffin proved more than a handful in the second set. Murray also showed signs of frustration, at one point yelling at brother Jamie, who was eating a snack beside the trophy at the back corner, to come back to his courtside seat.

With the home support louder than ever, Goffin stayed in the set until 55 when he shanked a forehand wide to give Murray a break point and then dumped a forehand into the net at the end of a lengthy rally.

Murray faced some pressure when attempting to serve out the set at 0-30 but a big serve brought up set point and he sealed it in style with another rasping forehand cross-court pass on the run which left Goffin standing in shock.

Murray had only once lost from two sets up – at the age of 18 against David Nalbandian at Wimbledon 2005 – but Goffin, to his credit, continued to fight hard. Breaks were exchanged early in the third set before Murray edged ahead with another break for 43.

An historic triumph was then sealed as Murray broke the serve of Goffin once again, hitting a stunning lob on his second match point to become the first player since, ironically, his coach Jonas Bjorkman in 1997 to win three rubbers in a Davis Cup final.