ITF

I know he'll say it's about the team, but we are really thankful for what he does." But if Britain had waited for decades for something to celebrate, Belgium had sighed and hoped and wished for far longer. Their only previous appearance in a Davis Cup Final was in 1904 — it was against Britain and they did not win a point — and now, here they were, on home soil within touching distance of the trophy. The terrorist attacks in Paris just two weeks before the final had cast a pall over the preparations. Brussels, a mere 35 miles away, was in lockdown for fear of more attacks. Ghent was under a slightly lower level of threat so with careful planning, much liaising with the security forces and strict security at every entrance, the tie went ahead. The queues to get in may have been long but everyone was good natured and patient even if the Belgian security guards had not banked on checking quite so many sporrans every morning. And once inside the Flanders Expo, the rest of the world faded away. The music pounded out: the two sets of fans had their own brass bands, the local DJ had his amplifiers on full blast and no one could hear themselves scream above the noise. Belgian captain Johan van Herck had tinkered with his line-up: Steve Darcis was the official No. 2 singles man but was only newly recovered from an ankle injury and was now struggling with a wrist problem. As a result, he was to be saved for the doubles and the fifth rubber, if we got that far. So, once Goffin had beaten Edmund 36 16 62 61 60, Ruben Bemelmans was sent on to face Andy Murray. Conceding 107 ranking places, he gave it his all and pushed the Scot as far as he could but still came away on the wrong side of a 63 62 75 scoreline. All square after the first day, the Murray men took charge of the doubles. It was not their finest performance — Andy was trying a little too hard to help his brother while Jamie's serve made only fleeting appearances — but the understanding between the two brothers was, in the end, too much for Goffin and Darcis. With a 64 46 63 62 win, Britain was 2-1 up. Cue Murray Junior to play the most important match of his life. DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS Sunday lunchtime saw the Flanders Expo packed to the rafters. Never had the picturesque town of Ghent seen so many kilts in one place. And never had Goffin played so hard or so well and still come away a straight-sets loser. When, with one last lob, Andy won the final point and secured the victory 63 75 63 for Britain, he collapsed in a heap and was immediately leapt upon by his teammates. Emerging from the pile of bodies to commiserate with Goffin and the Belgian team, he was in tears one minute, laughing and jumping for joy the next. This was beyond anything he could have imagined and he could not quite believe it. "We'll all remember this year for the rest of our lives, regardless of what happens in the rest of any of our careers," he said. "Nothing may ever top this now. This will definitely be the highlight, one of the highlights, of all of our careers. So we have to make sure we enjoy tonight and the next couple of days because I know how much hard work and effort goes into moments like this. You don't want to let it pass by without enjoying it." DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS 24 ITFWORLD WINTER 2015 It was Belgium's first appearance in the final for 111 years The Murrays were the first brothers to play doubles in a Davis Cup final since the Bryans in 2007 Ruben Bemelmans lost in straight sets

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