By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, November 28, 2015

Growing up in Scotland, Andy Murray and Jamie Murray spent some of their spare time staging brotherly wrestling matches in their bedroom for mythical titles.

Today, the Murray brothers grappled with a surprise tandem of Steve Darcis and David Goffin, a raucous Belgian crowd, and a one break deficit in the third set.

Video: Murray Brings Brits Level in Belgium

Refusing to be pinned down by pressure, the Murray brothers beat back Darcis and Goffin, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to win the crucial doubles point and put Great Britain within one win of its first Davis Cup championship in 79 years on the red clay of Ghent.

Andy Murray, who swept Ruben Bemelmans to level the tie yesterday, can clinch the Cup in tomorrow's reverse singles against Belgian No. 1 David Goffin.

"We have two opportunities tomorrow to win the match," Andy Murray said. "We don't want to get carried away. Goffin is a world-class player. He likes the clay and has the crowd behind him. It's going to be an extremely difficult match for me tomorrow. Also, if it goes to a fifth rubber we know we also have an opportunity in that match.

"It's good to be up 2-1. We would have taken that at the start of the tie. Hopefully, we can go out and do it tomorrow."

Given the fact Murray obliterated Goffin, 6-1, 6-0, in the Paris Masters earlier this month, that Goffin may have been a little leg weary going five sets to defeat Kyle Edmund in yesterday's opener and that the world No. 16 sports a lackluster 2-13 ATP doubles record, it was a curious decision by Belgian captain Johan Van Herck to start Goffin in doubles today.

Goffin struggled to generate pace off the high ball to his forehand and played some nervous baseline shots at the start. Darcis, who took the court with a 10-1 Davis Cup clay-court singles record, played spirited tennis for much of the first three sets. But he faded considerably in the fourth as Jamie Murray repeatedly swung his lefty serve to the Belgian's one-handed backhand fighting off seven break points in an epic game.

"We just needed to find a way to win a few more points on Jamie's return side," Andy Murray said. "We made that adjustment. And when we made that adjustment, Jamie started to return better, more aggressive and put them on the back foot. It was a great tactical switch-up. That changed the match for us."

Andy Murray, who had issued two straight love holds, stared down a 0-30 scare in the ninth game. Murray saved a break point with a kick serve to Darcis' one-hander and navigated a tricky five-minute hold with a creative dig and ace down the middle for 5-4.

Nerves burned Belgium in the next game. Goffin, who was shaky on some baseline shots at the outset, found the net on a forehand down the middle. Darcis missed the mark on a routine smash giving Great Britain set point. Andy Murray charged forward behind his return and beat Darcis in a rapid reflex volley exchange snatching the first set with an exuberant leap.

Pressuring Jamie Murray's serve, Belgium broke through on their third break point. Darcis ran around his backhand and slashed a forehand return setting up Goffin to slam a high forehand volley for their first break and a 2-1 second-set lead.

Jolting inside-out forehands from Darcis helped the host maintain the break lead. Serving for the set, Darcis opened with another acute-angled forehand. A crossing Goffin blocked a self-preservation volley to level the match at one set apiece.



After an early exchange of breaks in the third set, Jamie Murray asserted himself at net. Poaching with purpose, the left-handed Murray hit two volleys into the body as Great Britain broke Goffin for 4-2. Belgium came right back breaking Jamie Murray.

Playing with taping on his right forearm and the back of his right hand, Darcis lost some bite on his first serve and Goffin committed successive miscues at net as the Brits broke for 5-3, the fifth service break in the last six games. Andy Murray slammed down a first serve to seal the set at 30 with a loud "come on!" The sometime ornery Scot played with positive emotion giving Team GB a two sets to one lead.

The Murray brothers tried ratcheting up the pressure in the fourth set and received a helping hand from their skittish opponents. Darcis dumped his first double fault of the day to face break point. Goffin, who had consistently played angled volleys, pushed a point-blank volley into net as Belgium gifted the break and a 2-1 fourth-set lead.



If Great Britain wins the Davis Cup, the team may well look back on the fourth game of the fourth set as a pivotal. Jamie Murray confronted a Love-40 chasm on serve, saving seven break points in all, with an exceptional service escape that backed up the break for 3-1.

The Murray brothers broke Darcis again for 5-2. Andy Murray served it out to maintain his perfect Davis Cup record this season and put Britain on the brink of its 10th Davis Cup and first since 1936.