Davis Cup: Andy Murray's mammoth effort earns GB victory

The Scot’s five-set win over Japanese No 1 Kei Nishikori lasted four hours and 54 minutes and was secured with his last ounce of energy.

Murray led by two sets to love but faced losing from that position for the first time in 11 years, only to grind out a 7-5 7-6 (8/6) 3-6 4-6 6-3 victory at Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena.

That clinched a 3-1 first-round win for Britain, with Murray winning all three points for the fourth straight tie as he sets his sights on a successful title defence.

The trickiest of challenges awaits next, with a quarter-final away to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in July after they narrowly avoided an upset against Kazakhstan.

None of Murray’s previous wins had been as tough as this as world No 6 Nishikori, the highest-ranked player Murray has faced in the competition, repeatedly showed his class.

New father Murray had not played for a month prior to this tie and that seemed to catch up with him in the fourth set, but he dug deep into his reserves and found the extra he needed.

The 28-year-old said: “I do think it was a really good effort to come through that, after going down a break at the beginning of the fifth, and how I was feeling physically as well.

“I thought I did really well to win that fifth set, with everything that has gone on over the last few weeks and over the weekend.”

The match was the joint longest Murray has played, along with his US Open final victory over Djokovic in 2012, and he said: “My body is very sore just now.

“I have put myself through a lot this weekend.

“I have volunteered for all three days and I really, really wanted to win (yesterday). I maybe wanted to win too much.

“I was getting frustrated when I wasn’t taking opportunities I should have. I deeply cared about (yesterday’s) match and I expect that will stay the same throughout the rounds.”

After three fairly predictable results over the first two days – albeit with a good display in defeat from Dan Evans against Nishikori – this was the crux of the tie.

Both men boast an excellent record in Davis Cup and Nishikori, with his quick hands and quick feet, is one of the very best strikers of a ball in the world.

He did not do too much wrong in the opening two sets, but two double faults contributed to a Murray break in the final game of the first, and Nishikori could not capitalise on his momentum in the second-set tie-break after turning a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

There was little indication that things were about to take a downward turn for Murray in the third set until a double fault gave Nishikori a break point at 3-4. He took that and the set and, after missing chances at the start of the fourth, Murray’s energy and spirit began to sap alarmingly.

A brief revival at the end of the fourth came to nothing and he appeared in deep trouble when he dropped serve again at the start of the fifth.

But, as he always seems to do in Davis Cup, Murray found a way, winning three games in a row and then keeping his nose in front through sheer determination.

The 28-year-old said: “Sometimes people talk about, in a long-distance run, that the last lap is easier than some of the ones before that.

“At the start of the fifth you know there is only one set to go and you just need to try to fight for every point and you are not too far from the finish line. I think that helps.”

It was an extremely tough defeat for Nishikori, who had expected Murray’s fifth-set revival but could not counter it.

The 26-year-old said: “I knew he would come back. He always acts like that. I was ready to fight again in the fifth set. I was fine body-wise and he was not going to give up in such an important match. I tried to focus but he was a better player in the fifth set.”

Captain Leon Smith was left in awe of Murray’s efforts, saying: “I’m pretty much lost for words. He’s just a man of steel.

“It’s quite astonishing considering Andy hasn’t played since the Australian Open final. He’s amazing.

“It’s an absolute privilege to sit with him for a match like that and we’ll remember that one for a very long time.”