Great Britain's Andy Murray takes a break after a practice session in Glasgow yesterday, ahead of the Davis Cup semi-final match against Australia. (Action Images via Reuters)

DPA/Glasgow, Scotland

Britain and Belgium will try to erase multiple decades of tennis heartbreak from tomorrow as both nations vie for places in a long-sought Davis Cup final.
Britain, entirely dependent on struggling Scot Andy Murray, face former powerhouses Australia in the Scottish city of Glasgow in their semi-final. Belgium, who reached a semi-final in 1999, meet 2011 finalists Argentina in Brussels.
The Britons played their last final in the worldwide team competition in 1978, losing 4-1 to the US. They last won the title in 1936.  Belgium’s best performance was as runners-up in distant 1904.
Britain’s return to play in Scotland after beating the US in Glasgow in the first round is based mainly on Murray’s popularity, though the ATP number three is fresh from his worst grand slam showing in five years after going out of the US Open in the fourth round to Kevin Anderson.
The 28-year-old has been working for a week to change focus and try to be ready to face an Australia featuring Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Sam Groth.
Murray is the standout among an otherwise mediocre British team comprising singles hope Kyle Edmund and the doubles side of his own elder brother Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot.
But the younger Murray is not sounding confident.
“I don’t feel more stressed by it, but I have had thoughts about the Davis Cup,” he said. “Obviously I’ve played a lot of tennis and I’m thinking about maybe by the time I get to the Davis Cup I could be flat.
“I hope that’s not the case because I did plan it with my team about my training and stuff so that that wouldn’t be the case. But you always have thoughts like that about big events, especially with Davis Cup.”
Captain Leon Smith knows that unless Murray is on form, the tie is all but lost, even with a fiercely pro-Murray crowd packing the stands.
Murray, already showing signs of wear after a long hardcourt campaign, at least demonstrated his stamina by competing in three of the four rubbers in the quarter-final defeat of 2014 finalists France the week after Wimbledon.
Looking on the bright side, Smith said: “We’re in a good position and are very fortunate to have one of the best players in the world in Andy Murray, who is definitely the strongest in the two teams.
“A lot lies on his shoulders, of course, to get points but we’ve also got his brother Jamie who is fresh from the US Open (doubles) final and having made the Wimbledon final this year, he’s playing the best tennis of his career.”
Australia have been staging an informal shootout this week between Groth and teenager Kokkinakis for the second singles position behind Tomic.
Longtime campaigner and team leader Hewitt is likely to be saved for the doubles by captain Wally Masur.
The winner of the Groth-Kokkinakis showdown will probably have to face Murray in Friday’s opening singles.
“We trained in New York with the match balls and they wear out very quickly on the hard court so my thinking is it’s going to be a lot slower than what the players have been used to over the American summer,” Masur said. “So the form this week of the players is hugely important, how they settle into those conditions.”
Australia won their last Davis title in 2003 and have claimed the trophy 28 times. Argentina, with little-known names such as Leonardo Mayer, Federico Delbonis and Diego Schwartzman, have never won the Davis Cup. The Belgians will take to the hardcourt with David Goffin, Steve Darcis, Ruben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans.  

Safarova in hospital with bacterial infection
French Open finalist Lucie Safarova has been hospitalised in the Czech Republic with a bacterial infection, with no timetable for her return to the court. “So happy to be ranked fifth this week. Unfortunately it’s been really hard month for me. Injury and now fighting bacteria infection in hospital!” Safarova posted on her Facebook page along with a photo from the hospital in Brno yesterday.  “But I will fight hard to be back soon!”
Czech Fed Cup spokesperson Karel Tejkal played down concerns that Safarova could miss the final against Russia on November 14-15, saying her illness “does not call into question her participation”.  The 28-year-old reached her first Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros in June before losing to Serena Williams in three sets. She also won the Australian Open and French Open doubles titles alongside American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.  

Wickmayer defeats Larsson in Japan Open
A turbulent Japan Women’s Open ended the second round yesterday with fifth seed Johanna Larsson losing out. Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer defeated the Swede 7-5 6-3, while Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic eliminated Japanese hopeful Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-6 (7/5) 6-3. Third seed Madison Brengle and sixth seed Christina McHale, both American, survived.
On Tuesday, the WTA International event in Tokyo saw top seed Carla Suarez Navarro suffer a first-round exit as she was beaten 4-6 4-6 by the world’s 85th ranked Kateryna Bondarenko from Ukraine. The Spaniard, ranked 12th in the world, has struggled to find her rhythm since the early summer.

Murray to play Hopman Cup, Australia allotted two teams
Andy Murray will lead Britain for the second year in succession as he combines with Heather Watson at the Hopman Cup eight-nation international teams event in Perth, officials confirmed yesterday. The world number three Scot will return to Western Australia for the fourth time as he starts the January 3-9 tournament.
In a new twist, tournament boss Paul Kilderry revealed that hosts Australia will field two squads—Gold and Green—in the round-robin event, with Lleyton Hewitt confirmed for what should be his last time in Perth prior to an expected February retirement. He is due to team with local Casey Dellacqua.
When Britain and Australia clash, it would be a re-run of this weekend’s Davis Cup semi-final to be played in Glasgow. “I’ve always loved playing the Hopman Cup, I love playing for my country,” said Hewitt, who will make his eighth appearance at the event.
“I’ve never played in the new stadium in Perth either so I’m looking forward to it. “Plus for my last Australian Open I think it’s great preparation. I’m guaranteed the three matches but hopefully four if we can make the final.”
Murray’s last Perth appearance in January led to his fourth Australian Open final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. The Scot said he cannot think of a better preparation for the 2016 season.
“They have a great crowd there. The new centre court is extremely similar to Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena, so it’s great preparation for the Aussie Open.
“From a preparation standpoint is that the conditions are extremely hot there ... and also you’re guaranteed matches. You’re guaranteed to play three singles, three mixed matches, so you get time on court.”
Other teams in the field will include Czech Republic, Germany, France, Ukraine and the United States with the full player lineup to be confirmed next month.