Andy Murray leads GB into Davis Cup final

Murray shrugged off early fitness fears to clinch a 7-5 6-3 6-2 victory and give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead over Australia.

It was Murray’s third point of the tie – adding to his earlier singles victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis and doubles success alongside brother Jamie.

"Winning for your country and your team-mates means a lot," Murray said afterwards.

"The crowd were unbelievable from the first ball to the last. I didn't feel great the whole weekend to be honest, I've been struggling with my back, but I just tried to disguise it."

Belgium await in November's final, after Steve Darcis beat Federico Delbonis in four sets on Sunday evening to win the decisive singles rubber in Brussels..

It is the first time Britain have reached the final since 1978, when they lost in the final to the United States. They last won the event in 1936, with Fred Perry leading the victorious squad on that occasion.

Murray, who previously followed in Perry's footsteps as he became the first Briton to win the Wimbledon men's singles in 77 years in 2013, ultimately delivered his decisive third point with relative ease - outmuscling an increasingly dispirited Tomic as the partisan crowd in Glasgow roared him on.

Murray's only moment of alarm came in the first set when Tomic briefly raised his level, breaking back from 2-5 down to level the set at 5-5, but the Australian ranked 23 in the world slipped 0-40 down at 5-6 and despite saving two set points was bamboozled by a Murray drop shot.

After that the outcome became a formality as Murray dominated, streaking away from his rival to get the party started.

Dan Evans subsequently lost in straight sets to Kokkinakis, but arguably his job had already been done as he pushed Tomic - who looked fatigued on Sunday - all the way in their first singles match.

Murray then ruthlessly took advantage.

"He's quite good isn't he?" team captain Leon Smith joked.

"It's pretty amazing watching Andy's work over the whole weekend, he fights so hard and he's got the quality. He executed it perfectly today."

In beating Tomic, Murray improved his record in Davis Cup singles to 25-2 - an incredible contribution and the main reason Britain have risen from the depths of the competition in 2010 to within one victory of their first title for nearly 80 years.

An Argentina win in the other semi-final would have given the Scot the chance to improve that record on home soil - but Belgium will now host the showdown finale, which is scheduled to take place November 27-29.