The British Davis Cup team are half Scottish, and the semis are to be held in Glasgow. With front man Andy Murray born and raised in this very city, the Brits have a huge home-court advantage.
Adrenaline is guaranteed to flow in buckets during these matches: the Aussies will be fighting for their chance at the trophy after a 12-year wait, while for the Brits winning could mean the end of a 79-year dry spell!
The Brits have a disproportionate failure record, considering they have no shortage of excellent tennis players – Andy Murray and his brother Jamie are respectively third in singles and eighth in doubles worldwide.
Australian fans would undoubtedly be excited to make a first final in nine years, but it would be sort of a magical moment for their opponents, who haven’t made it to the finals since 1981.
According to UK-licensed sportsbook TonyBet, the Brits are favoured to win. Their victory is set at the odds of 27/20, compared to 11/4 for an Aussie triumph.
The Murray surname may sound menacing, but the Australian team beat the 2012 and 2013 champions Czech Republic in the very first round.
Australian Bernard Tomic sports three ATP 250 Series singles titles, with two in the last two years, and two ATP Challengers titles. His best Grand Slam result is the Wimbledon quarter-finals of 2011 and he is ranked 23 in the world in singles – the best in his team.
At 90 in the world, Samuel Groth is Australia’s best-ranked doubles player, with one title in ATP 250 Series doubles, and having reached the semi-finals in the 2014 French Open. Groth’s singles performance is also solid enough – he went through to the third round in both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.
The team’s youngest, Thanasi Kokkinakis, has two doubles titles from the ATP Challenger Tour, achieved in 2014 and 2013, although he is better ranked at singles.
Former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has the most achievements to his name, however it’s been 10 years since he was runner-up at Australian Open – his last best result.
For the Brits, attention will obviously focus on the Murray duo. Andy lost in the fourth round of the US Open this year, after reaching the finals at the Australian Open and quarter-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Still, he is the Brits’ not-so-secret weapon in singles.
He also played doubles with his brother in previous Davis Cups – successfully, too – although it’s doubtful he will play doubles this time around, as they are held on Saturday, and he has singles matches are on Friday and Sunday.
Jamie Murray is the highest-ranked doubles player on the team and has had a very good season. He made the third round in both the Australian and French Opens, then made it to the finals in the other two Grand Slam tournaments, with his Australian doubles partner John Peers.
If the doubles is the tie-breaking match, Jamie will put up a very good fight.
Kyle Edmund and Dominic Inglot complete the team, with the team’s youngest player Kyle winning two ATP Challenger Tours events this year, while Dominic has had better luck at doubles, going through to the semi-finals in the US Open and winning an ATP 250 Series tournament.
Even though the Murray brothers may gather more attention, these two are no rookies.
The Australian team has youth and experience, while the Brits will lean on their star brothers. The matches will be played over three days from September 18 – be sure to tune in to see a drought ending in triumph!
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