GENT: A fired-up Andy Murray kept Britain in contention in the Davis Cup final when he beat Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets to leave the two nations level at 1-1 after the opening singles on Friday.

Murray, ranked No 2 in the world, made a smooth transition to clay and won 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 against his left-handed opponent, who is ranked No 108.

Earlier, David Goffin rallied to beat Kyle Edmund 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0, overcoming a two-set deficit for the first time in his career to put Belgium ahead.

“It’s pretty much what we expected,” Murray said of the result after day one.

Murray’s hunger to capture the team trophy has been evident all year with inspirational displays against the US, France and Australia and he wore his heart on his sleeve again as he withstood a Bemelmans fightback to clinch victory.

At 2-2 in the third set and the noise levels deafening inside the 13,000-seat arena built within a charmless warehouse on the edge of medieval Gent, Murray was even docked a point for an audible obscenity.

He then slipped 4-2 behind and fought off a Bemelmans set point at 4-5 before clinching a straight-sets victory.

The opening singles of the tie, which was regarded as a “must-win” rubber for Belgium as they try to land their first title, was turning into a humiliation for Goffin when he trailed the world number 100 by two sets.

However, lifted by the chants of the home fans, the 24-year-old rattled off the final 12 games of the match to take his singles record in the competition to 12-2. It was the first time in his career that he had won a match after losing the first two sets.

“The pressure was more on my shoulders because we needed this point against Kyle,” Goffin told reporters. “I was a little bit worried because Kyle was playing unbelievable. He just had nothing to lose.”

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2015