Murray powers Britain to Davis Cup quarters

Britain celebrated its first Davis Cup victory over the United States since 1935 when Andy Murray beat Sam Querrey, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday in the World Group first-round tie in San Diego.

Wimbledon champion Murray broke his big-serving opponent five times on the red clay surface at Petco Park to give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead with James Ward scheduled to take on American Donald Young in the final match.

Roared on by the minority of British fans in the stands, Murray, ranked No. 6 in the world, sealed the victory over the 49th-ranked Querrey in just under three hours, improving his Davis Cup record to 18-1 in singles and 21-6 overall.

Ward, ranked 175th, had given Britain a commanding 2-0 advantage over the Americans on day one with a shock win over Querrey after clawing his way back from being down two sets to one and trailing 4-2 in the fourth.

Querrey came under pressure in his first service game in the second set but upped a few gears as he came from 30-40 down to hold before winning the tie break 7-3 with a crunching forehand winner to level the match.

However, the American was broken in the first and third games of the third, on both occasions after hitting forehands long.

Britain will travel to Italy in the quarterfinals.

Reuters