Kyle Edmund crushes Janko Tipsarevic in farcical conditions, GB lead 1-0

ByBen Snowball

Updated 15/07/2016 at 21:40 GMT

Kyle Edmund dismantled Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets as Great Britain took a 1-0 lead against Serbia in their Davis Cup quarter-final, with the match on clay completed in driving rain.

A boisterous visiting support negated any supposed Belgrade advantage as Edmund roared to a 6-3 6-4 6-0 win.

It was the 21-year-old’s first victory in the Davis Cup in only his second appearance – his first coming in the 2015 final against Belgium, where he surrendered a two-set lead before losing to David Goffin.

The main talking point, however, were the farcical conditions as the officials and chair umpire elected to keep the players on court despite a sea of umbrellas in the stands.

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Edmund wraps up second set in awful conditions

Tipsarevic appeared to have little faith in the court as his movement deserted him in the third set, but instead of demanding to head inside he accepted his fate and meekly saw out the contest.

James Ward is scheduled to face Dusan Lajovic in the second rubber, although that match has been pushed to Saturday due to the rain.

Ridiculous! These are the conditions they were playing in…

The tie was initially billed as a head-to-head between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, but the world’s top two players withdrew following their Wimbledon exploits.

But Edmund admitted he was inspired by the British No.1, who had still travelled to Serbia as a supporter.

"It means a lot," said Edmund. "It just shows how much he cares about Davis Cup the fact he's come out basically on his holiday week to come and support.

Edmund wraps up victory over Tipsarevic

"Someone who has done so much in the game, he's put so much effort into Davis Cup, especially last year, he's sitting there at the side of the court supporting, it does give you a lift. It's not like you look at him, it's his presence.

"It means a lot for the whole team just having him around, especially after last week. He doesn't have to do it."

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