Tomic battles past Evans on opening day of World Group semi-final

Sport360 staff 00:35 19/09/2015
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  • Bernard Tomic put Australia back in contention in the Davis Cup semi-final against England.

    Bernard Tomic kept Australia’s Davis Cup hopes alive when he defeated Dan Evans 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 to level their World Group semi-final against Great Britain at 1-1 Friday.

    The pressure had been on the world No23 after Andy Murray had given Great Britain the perfect start with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 demolition of Thanasi Kokkinakis on the hard-court of the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

    However, Tomic survived a third set wobble to see off late call-up Evans – ranked a lowly 300 in the world – in an energy-sapping three-hour encounter to leave the tie delicately poised ahead of today’s doubles rubber.

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    “It was emotionally tough out there. The crowd and the atmosphere drains you every point you play,” Tomic said. “I was playing a player who was striking and feeling the ball very well. I was getting tired quickly after the third set so I’m happy I got it together in the end.”

    With a final place against either Belgium or Argentina in November at stake, Tomic’s victory means the tie can’t be decided until Sunday’s reverse singles.

    Evans had been a surprise choice by captain Leon Smith ahead of regular James Ward. But the gamble didn’t look like it would pay off early on as Tomic eased through the first set.

    Evans, who had defeated Tomic in their only other meeting in the 2013 US Open, was beginning to look out of his depth as he quickly fell 2-0 behind in the second set.

    The Briton battled back with a stirring display to twice break Tomic to take the set to a tie break, where the Australian’s class shone through. Evans then needed a medical time-out for a leg injury and the 25-year-old initially toiled in the third set as Tomic took a 4-1 lead.

    However, Evans broke as the Australian served for the match before completing his comeback by taking the third set on a tie break.

    Evans continued to cause his higher ranked rival problems in the fourth but, with the finishing line in sight, Tomic found some reserves to serve a love game to seal the match.

    Murray had helped Great Britain get off to a flying start with a comprehensive victory over Kokkinakis. World No3 Murray took under two hours to see off the challenge of the 19-year-old Australian.

    “It was a huge match and I’m glad I managed to put on a good performance,” Murray said.

    In the other semi-final, David Goffin kept his nerve to beat Argentina’s Federico Delbonis 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-3 to give Belgium an early lead. However, Argentina evened the tie when Leonardo Mayer edged Steve Darcis 7-6(5), 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-3.

    Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal shrugged off his recent struggles to give Spain a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup Group One relegation play-off against Denmark with a straight sets win over Mikael Torpegaard.

    The 14-time Grand Slam champion was far too good for the world No909 despite a patchy performance to win 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. “On this surface that is fast I had to be aggressive. I had some problems, especially in the first set, but I am happy to get the victory.”

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