Andy Murray Stakes Great Britain Davis Cup Lead, Dedicates Win To Late Grandmother | ATP Tour

Andy Murray earned a marathon Davis Cup Finals win for Great Britain in Manchester on Friday, defeating Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi to earn Great Britain a 1-0 lead in the tie. Following the match, Murray shared that Friday was also the day of his grandmother’s funeral, which he was not able to attend.

“Gran, that one’s for you,” an emotional Murray said to close his on-court interview.

The Briton defeated Riedi 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-4 in a three-hour, 10-minute marathon. Murray led 5-2 in the opening set and had two set points on return at 5-3, and a further two in the first-set tie-break, but he was forced to rescue the rubber from a set down to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead.

Murray broke twice in each of the final two sets to secure his 33rd Davis Cup singles win, hitting his third ace of the match to seal the victory.

“Incredible to get through that one. It easily could have gone the other way,” said Murray, who had prepared to face Dominic Sticker before learning an hour before the match that he would contest his first Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup against Riedi. “It was ridiculous, the shots he was pulling off. Amazing returning. I kept fighting, managed to stay focused and managed to turn it around.”

The second rubber of the tie will see Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie take on Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka.

Great Britain defeated Australia 2-1 to open their Davis Cup Finals campaign on Wednesday.