Andy Murray carried Great Britain to its first Davis Cup semifinal since 1981, beating France’s Gilles Simon 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday to give the host an unassailable 3-1 lead. An out-of-sorts Murray, who was playing his third rubber of the weekend following Saturday’s doubles victory alongside brother Jamie, looked to be in trouble as he trailed Simon by a set and a break.
Simon had two medical timeouts during the match following heavy falls and Murray capitalises in front of the partisan crowd at the sun-kissed grass-courts of the Queen’s Club.
The gritty Frenchman was able to continue despite the falls but was severely limited in his movement and could only chase gingerly as Murray moved him around the court with his pounding groundstrokes and delicate dropshots.
Murray completely dominated the final set and sealed the victory when Simon skewed a backhand wide.
Aussie fightback Britain plays Australia in the semifinals after the latter recovered from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 against Kazakhstan in Darwin.
It was old warhorse Lleyton Hewitt who clinched the decisive fifth rubber as host Australia completed a fighting comeback. The 34-year-old, playing in a record 40th Cup tie sealed the victory with a gritty 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-3 win over Aleksandr Nedovyesov.
Earlier Sam Groth kept the tie alive for Australia with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(6) win over Mikhail Kukushkin. It was the first time in 76 years that 28-time champion Australia had clawed back from 0-2 down to win a Davis Cup tie.
On Saturday, Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer clinched the doubles rubber by beating Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 to give host Argentina a winning 3-0 lead over Serbia. In the semifinals, Argentina goes on to face Belgium which beat visiting Canada.
The results: World Group quarterfinals: In Darwin:Australia 3 bt Kazhakstan 2 [Sam Groth bt Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(6); Lleyton Hewitt bt Aleksandr Nedovyesov 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-3].
In London:Great Britain 3 bt France 1 [Andy Murray bt Gilles Simon 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0; fifth rubber not played]
In Ostend:Belgium 5 bt Canada 0 [Kimmer Coppejans bt Frank Dancevic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3; Steve Darcis bt Felip Peliwo 6-4, 6-3].
In Buenos Aires:Argentina 4 bt Serbia 1 [Diego Schwartzman lost to Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-4; Carlos Berlocq bt Filip Krajinovic 6-1 3-0, retd.; Berlocq & Leonardo Mayer bt Viktor Troicki & Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-4, 6-1].
