U.S. wins doubles, advances to Davis Cup semis

   As expected, the United States won the doubles to clinch a victory over Belgium in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
   But today's match was surprisingly close.
   Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock subdued Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 5-7, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3), 6-4 in three hours in Nashville, Tenn., to give the U.S. an insurmountable 3-0 lead and put the United States in the semifinals for the first time since 2012.
   John Isner and San Francisco native Sam Querrey won their singles matches on Friday.
   Both Harrison and Sock -- ranked 17th and 26th in doubles, respectively -- have won one Grand Slam men's doubles title but with different partners. Harrison and Michael Venus of New Zealand took the French Open crown last year, and Sock teamed with Vasek Pospisil of Canada for the 2014 Wimbledon trophy.
   Meanwhile, Gille and Vliegen -- ranked 84th and 98th in doubles, respectively -- made their Davis Cup debut near where they played in college. Gille attended East Tennessee State, and Vliegen went to East Carolina.
   The United States likely will play at nemesis Croatia, which leads visiting Kazakhstan 2-1, in the Sept. 14-16 semifinals.
   Croatia, with a population comparable to Detroit's, is 4-0 against the United States. In the most recent meeting, Croatia stunned the U.S. 3-2 after trailing 2-0 in Portland, Ore., in the 2016 quarterfinals.

Querrey gives U.S. 2-0 lead in Davis Cup quarters

   San Francisco native Sam Querrey defeated Ruben Bemelmans 6-1, 7-6 (5), 7-5 today in Nashville, Tenn., to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Belgium in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey, ranked 14th, pounded 21 aces and won 83 percent of the points on his first serve (45 of 54).  Bemelmans, ranked 110th, had nine aces and nine double faults.
   Earlier, ninth-ranked John Isner beat No. 319 Joris De Loore 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4. The 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Isner, who won the biggest title of his career on Sunday in Miami, hammered 43 aces and won 84 percent of the points on his first delivery (74 of 88).
   Both De Loore and Bemelmans have played in Northern California in recent years.
   De Loore, 6-foot-3 (1.91 meters) and 190 pounds (86 kilograms), ousted top-seeded Bjorn Fratangelo in the first round of the $100,000 Stockton Challenger in 2016 before losing to eventual runner-up Noah Rubin. The following week, De Loore reached the semifinals of the $100,000 Fairfield Challenger.
   Bemelmans, a 6-foot (1.83-meter) left-hander, won the $25,000 Burlingame Futures in 2016 and lost as the first seed in the opening round of the $100,000 Tiburon and Stockton Challengers last fall.
   Belgium, the Davis Cup runner-up in 2015, is playing without veterans David Goffin, ranked 10th, and Steve Darcis, ranked 143rd after reaching a career-high 37th last May, because of injuries.
   The United States can advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2012 with a victory in Saturday's doubles match (2 p.m. PDT, Tennis Channel).

Murray ends Britain's Davis Cup drought at 79 years

Andy Murray, shown at Indian Wells in March, beat David Goffin of Belgium
in straight sets today to clinch the Davis Cup title for Great Britain. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   David Goffin played the point perfectly.
   Still, it wasn't good enough.
   After a long rally, the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Belgian slugged an inside-out forehand to the corner on the indoor clay surface in Ghent, Belgium, in the Davis Cup final. Andy Murray, a 6-foot-3 (1.90-meter) Scot, replied with a cross-court backhand.
   Goffin then ripped a runaround forehand in the other corner for an apparent winner. But Murray hit a lunging cross-court forehand that barely went over the net.
  The speedy Goffin chased the ball down and hit a forehand deep to the opposite corner. But Murray, who moves exceptionally well at his size, countered with a backhand cross-court topspin lob. Goffin could only watch helplessly as the ball landed just inside the baseline.
   The sensational point gave Great Britain its first Davis Cup title in 79 years. Murray collapsed on the court with his head in his hands today after his 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory, clinching the best-of-five-match series 3-1. The last match between Kyle Edmund of Great Britain and Ruben Bemelmans was not played.
   "It's obviously an amazing feeling," said Murray, who won the first of his 35 tour-level titles (fourth among active players) in San Jose in 2006. "I imagine it will take a few days before it really sinks in. But I probably haven't been as emotional as that after a match that I've won. I've been pretty upset having lost matches before, but I'd say that's probably the most emotional I've been after a win.
   "It's incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn't know that would ever be possible. It's great."
   Murray, however, was the only member of the "Big Four"-- which also includes Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- to commit fully, if at all, to the Davis Cup this year.
   Powerful Spain did not qualify for the elite World Group because it lost at Brazil in a playoff last September without its top three singles players (Nadal, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez).  
   Defending champion Switzerland, playing without Federer and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Stan Wawrinka, fell at Belgium in March in the opening round of the World Group.
   Serbia, playing without the top-ranked Djokovic, lost at Argentina in the World Group quarterfinals in July.
   Murray, on the other hand, went 11-0 in Davis Cup matches this year. His 8-0 singles record tied John McEnroe and Mats Wilander for the best in a calendar year. James Ward was the only other Brit to win a singles match this year.
  Murray became the first player since Pete Sampras of the United States 20 years ago to win three live matches in a Davis Cup final. He defeated Bemelmans in straight sets on friend and teamed with his older brother, Jamie, to beat Steve Darcis and Goffin in four sets in Saturday's doubles match.
  Great Britain moved ahead of France for sole possession of third place with 10 Davis Cup titles. The United States has 32 and Australia 28.
   Murray won three titles early in his career in Northern California. He captured the Aptos Challenger 10 years ago at 18 and the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose on the ATP World Tour in 2006 and 2007.
   In 2013, Murray became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Fred Perry had been the last to accomplish the feat, earning the crown in 1936. That also was the last year Great Britain had captured the Davis Cup until today.
   Belgium has never won the prestigious team competition.