The Davis Cup final is still anyone's after the first day, with leading singles players David Goffin and Andy Murray both beating lesser-ranked opponents. The two results come as no surprise, and appear to point to tomorrow's doubles rubber as the crucial match in this year's final.
Edmund tests Goffin
One of only six players to make their Davis Cup debut in the final, 19-year-old Kyle Edmund repaid British captain Leon Smith's faith in him with a stunning start, taking a two-set lead over his 16th ranked opponent. A win for the young Brit would seem to have almost sealed the tie, with Murray's two matches still to come, but after being second best over the first two sets Goffin eventually prevailed 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-0.
Edmund's forehand was mightily impressive in the early stages, Goffin almost helpless against the Edmund onslaught, but, as was perhaps to be expected from the Brit's inexperience, he was unable to sustain his highest level. After hitting 14 forehand winners in the first two sets, he managed only four in the next two to go into what was only his second fifth set.
"I lost confidence in my movement and it was bugging me," Edmund said afterwards, but should the fifth rubber prove decisive, Edmund gave British fans plenty to be optimistic about, particularly as his next opponent is lower ranked than Edmund is himself.
Goffin paid tribute to his opponent afterwards, although it seemed clear that he always felt he would win the match: "Kyle played an unbelievable first two sets. He was really aggressive with his forehand. I tried to stay calm, to manage it very well. People expected me to win the match, and that's what I did."
Murray draws scores level with straight sets win
Murray's 6-3 6-2 7-5 win over Ruben Bemelmans may on paper look straightforward, but the third set was anything but. A raucous atmosphere inside the stadium helped raise tension in what was a fiery third set all round, Belgian captain Johan von Herck warned over the noisy home crowd, and Murray receiving a point penalty for multiple audible obscenities.
This was Davis Cup at its very best, a loudly passionate home crowd inspiring their underdog to some truly spectacular tennis, breaking the world number two to go 4-2 up, and reaching set point a couple of games later.
Murray was fired up too, though, and eventually had too much for Bemelmans, taking the third set with five of the last six games. The British number one will now look to recover quickly for the pivotal doubles rubber tomorrow with his brother Jamie Murray.
No big surprises on day one
"Obviously on paper it's what people would have expected," said Smith at the end of the day. It's tough to argue with that view of how things stand - both teams can feel they did themselves justice at the end of day one, with the British perhaps feeling a little more optimistic than the Belgians with what looks to be a superior doubles team, and after Edmund's impressive performance against Goffin.