'Flemski' puts GB in lead
Date published :
06 Mar 2010 - 15:48:11
Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski fired Great Britain into a 2-1 lead over Lithuania in their Davis Cup clash thanks to a four-set doubles win.
After James Ward's win and Dan Evans' defeat on Friday, the middle rubber was set to play a major role in deciding the outcome of the Europe/Africa Zone Group Two tie in Vilnius.
The British pair got off to a flying start against Laurynas Grigelis and Dovydas Sakinis but the hosts upped their game and in the end 'Flemski' were relieved to come through 6-0 6-7 (2/7) 7-5 6-3.
They could not have made a better start, breaking Sakinis to love in the first game, and two more breaks ensured they wrapped up the opening set in only 19 minutes.
If Britain thought they were in for an easy afternoon they were quickly proved wrong, though. Grigelis held for the first time to steady the home pair's nerves and Fleming was forced to save three break points at 2-3.
Skupski then found himself in trouble on his serve at 5-6 but Lithuania could not take advantage of two set points. However, they raced into a 5-0 lead in the tie-break and this time there was no way back for captain John Lloyd's men as the hosts took the game 7-2 to level the match.
The third set quickly adopted a similar pattern, with chances at a premium for both teams. Fleming recovered from 0-30 serving at 5-5 and the British pair took full advantage in the next game.
Grigelis swiftly found himself at 0-40 and, although he saved one set point, a double fault on the next put the visitors within one set of victory.
The Lithuanian, beaten by Ward in the singles on Friday, then came under pressure in the fourth game of the fourth set but two break points came and went for Britain.
There was no doubt the momentum had swung again, though, and Sakinis could not repeat the trick in their next service game as Fleming and Skupski moved to the brink of victory. Scot Fleming confidently held his delivery and, although three match points went begging on the Grigelis serve, Skupski made no mistake to seal a vital victory.
