Belgium Hosts Great Britain As It Seeks First Ever Davis Cup Title

November 25, 2015 | By Brian Coleman
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Great Britain visits Belgium this weekend in the 2015 Davis Cup Final at the Flanders Expo in Ghent.

This is a matchup between two nations who haven’t had much Davis Cup success in their history. Belgium has never won the title, and hasn’t even played in a final since 1904, while Great Britain last played in a final in 1978 and hasn’t won one since 1936.

The Belgian squad will be led by top singles player David Goffin, while the British will be anchored by world number two Andy Murray. The exact matchups have yet to be announced, but Goffin versus Murray is expected to be the opening singles match.

“For us, it’s a huge event. I think for Belgium it’s important. I think in sports, in general, not only in tennis,” said Belgian captain Johan Van Herck. “I think it’s a really good team effort and I think in Belgium everybody appreciates that. We will try to one step further. I think the whole country will be behind us and we will try to keep the trophy here. I think it’s one of the main goals we have as a team. To have a good attitude, to have a good representation of our team and to put crowd behind us. It’s always been important for us to be an exemplary team and that’s what we are going to do this weekend.”

Murray talked about what a win would mean for the sport of tennis in Great Britain.

“To win the biggest team competition in tennis, having beaten the other three Grand Slam nations, would be a huge victory for everyone on the team,” said Murray. “It would be well-deserved as well. It’s taken a lot of time and hard work from many players, many of the staff, coaches, physios, everyone. It’s taken five years.

When you win a Slam or a big competition, it’s obviously years in the work, but this is a bit different. The last five years it’s been a progression from a pretty low place in world tennis to playing for the biggest team competition. It would be big for everyone involved for sure.”

Below are the rosters for both Belgium and Great Britain. The final will begin Friday, Nov. 27

Belgium            Great Britain
David Goffin     Andy Murray   
Steve Darcis  Kyle Edmund
Ruben Bemelmans Jamie Murray
Kimmer Coppejans Dominic Inglot

 


Brian Coleman

 Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com

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