Andy Murray 'not high' yet after doubles win, Belgians remain bullish

The 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory over David Goffin and Steve Darcis puts Great Britain 2-1 ahead, with two rubbers remaining, but the world No 2 insists he is focused on his final match against Goffin on Sunday.

The younger Murray said: “It's obviously fantastic to win the match. Same thing against Australia and against France. But I don't feel that sort of high right now. I feel pretty calm. I know there's a long way to go.

“Obviously to play in a Davis Cup Final with your brother and to win a point for your country is obviously great. We may never get the chance to do that again. So we have to enjoy that.”

The 28-year-old admitted the tie could still go either way and that he would still be anxious before the crucial first match tomorrow - against the world No 16.

“I'm sure there will be nerves there tomorrow,” he added. “But, like I said kind of before the tie, I like being nervous. I think it helps me. It helps me concentrate. It helps me give, like, a little bit more effort. Might only be a couple of per cent, but it all makes a difference.”

His older brother also showed signs of nerves during their match and struggled early on before joking about how it felt to play alongside Andy. The 29-year-old said: “I rushed a few shots that normally I wouldn't have done. Maybe that was the whole situation of the tie.

“It's probably more reassuring for me than it is for [Andy].”

But his sibling returned the compliment. “I knew he would get it going,” responded Andy. “He loves playing in big matches. He tends to perform very well on big occasions.

“So I just trust him when he's on the court, when he's next to me. That's not just because he's my brother, but because he's an exceptionally good tennis player. Yeah, that's why we've played well together this year.”

The Belgians struck a defiant note after the match and insisted they would fight until the bitter end. Darcis claimed he could play in the decisive rubber if it goes that far and is likely to face competition from Ruben Bemelmans for the spot.

Captain Johan Van Herck said: “It's a difficult day tomorrow. But as a team we have to believe, we have to stand up, we have to fight. Not a lot of people gave us a chance to win against Argentina in the semis, and we did it.

“So now tomorrow there's a huge task ahead of us. I think for every tennis player, it's a position he wants to be in. We're going to show tomorrow that we're a strong group, we're a strong team, and we're going to try to solve this together. We're all going to be ready to fight again. Anything can happen in Davis Cup.”

And star player Goffin, the world No 16, backed up those comments and insisted he can manage a third match in three days – against Andy Murray in the fourth rubber. “Physically I'm feeling good,” he said. “I played five sets yesterday and four sets today. But I think physically I can play another match tomorrow. So I think it's not a problem if I have to play five sets tomorrow.”

“I will be ready. But I think I'm still confident for tomorrow, even if we lost the match today. I'm feeling good with my ground-strokes and everything is okay for tomorrow. So I'm ready to give everything. I've never played against Andy on clay court, so I'm going to try to, yeah, play my best tennis tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow I have nothing to lose. I just have to give everything I have for the match. I think on clay court I have some weapons to play a good match.”