Italy v GB - Day 2 Part 1 Davis Cup

Good morning. You weren't expecting us to be on now, and quite frankly,

neither were we. After all that torrential rain yesterday and that

nerve-jangling, spine-tingling second set involving Andy Murray

last night, which isn't complete yet, means there's unfinished

business on the second day, the quarter final between Italy and

Great Britain. This is how all four ties currently stand:

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga lost a long singles last night so France have to

win the doubles today. Wawrinka lost his singles yesterday

but Federer won and they're not a bad doubles pairing. They link up

today in that match against Kazakhstan. Italy have a 1-0 lead

against Great Britain because of the match that took place yesterday

afternoon, after an extensive rain delay. Fabio Fognini beat James Ward

in four sets. At one set apiece, it was anybody's match. In the end,

Fognini, one of the world's best players on clay, was just too much.

A great shot to win the match. Ward can be really proud of his

performance. You made a brilliant start to the

first couple of sets, what are your overriding emotions at the end of

the match? Disappointment. I don't like losing to whoever you play.

Great first three sets, I thought, not just two sets. The fourth set

was difficult. He got on top of me early. From there, it was tough to

turn it around. But the first three sets were even and the third could

have gone to either of us. In the third set in particular, you must

have felt if you could have just squeezed that one out, there was a

real chance of winning the match. At times, he was beaten himself up a

little bit. Of course, you come to expect that. You know how Fabio is.

It doesn't really affect his game. He can scream and shout and look

like he's not happy, but the next point he's ready. It doesn't really

affect him. Cting to play against? Not really. Just because you know

what coming. Sometimes it can be quite funny actually. Serious amount

of tape on his body too, did he seem restricted to you in any way? I

didn't notice, I wasn't looking at what tape he had on. He moved really

well. I said before, every drop shot he got up, like ghtning. I didn't

notice a a difference. Condition of the court, due feel comfortable --

did you feel comfortable playing on it? Yeah, it was fine. It churned up

a little bit. It was slow out there. The ball got heavy, as the afternoon

got colder, it was definitely heavy and tougher to move. It was the same

for both of us. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon, we don't know what

the scenario would be, it could be you and Seppi for a place in the

semifinals, are you good in -- are you in good shape if it comes to

that? Of course, there's a lot of tennis to be played before that.

We'll see how Andy does today and we'll go from there. Andy went on

court, he won the first set against Andreas Seppi. But the second set

was a dinning-dong aware. -- ding-dong affair. Andy Murray

managed to save four set points. With that put-away, gave himself a

position where they are 5-5 and they will resume in about 20 minutes'

time. Play is delayed by half an hour this morning because the court

wasn't in good enough condition. The court was the main talking point

yesterday. James Ward was very conciliatory there about what he

thought the state of it was. His captain was less so afterwards. We

expected it to be like this when you reach quarter final stage of this

competition. We knew it was going to be a more hostile environment and a

more challenging one. It proved to be the case. There were a number of

factors that made it more difficult - the weather, the court itself.

When you put all those things in the mix, it was a tough day. Very proud

of the guys, both James and Andy. They showed huge amount of heart

today. Think we stand now, 1-0 down in rubbers, but Andy in charge of

the second one. Yeah, I think people probably would have expected that. I

thought James an amazingly good job, that's about as well as I've seen

him play. When you consider the surface and the opponent and the

form of the opponent. Then Andy, he's in a good position now. It was

a tough match. It was a heavy, heavy court at end there. Both players

struggling to generate a lot of pace. But the quality was really

high, a lot of long points, which the crowd enjoyed. I think very

physically demanding for both players. Good quality all round and

Andy showing why he's such a champion. He had to save four set

points there. One set all overnight would look very different to 5-5

overnight. How big a deal is that? It's huge. After such a long day and

OK, they didn't finish even a second set there, but that was brutal out

there with the conditions. You saw what was happening in the court.

Every time the players moved wide, it was cutting up. I think it's

dangerous. They need to work hard at that to make sure it's safer for the

players. It's crucial that Andy actually stays in this second set

and I back him to win that now. I think he'll come out and really

focus on what to do now. He's had court time with Seppi as well. His

avoiding going one set all, will that influence the decision making

over the doubles as to whether Andy might play? It could do. Much around

that is a waiting game to see how Andy feels. He is our best player.

You build that around him. The two doubles players get that and respect

it fully. It's a question of making sure we get all the treatment he

needs now. Get back to the team room. Hopefully he has a great

sleep, wakes up and much will depend on conditions, how he gets on

tomorrow, how much the match -- how the match goes against Seppi. Do you

see it going all the way? At the end of the day, we have Andy and I think

he's the best player here. If Andy feels good and physically is in good

enough condition to be able to do what I think he can do, then, you

know, there's a chance we could win it beforehand. Then again, it's so

close, the environment is definitely making it real 50/50. Their captain

said the same. There's not much between it. So probably could go the

whole way if I look at it that way. A lot can happen. Tomorrow now

becomes a pivotal day. There will be two rubbers at stake. We will wait

and see. Leon Smith talking to David Law. They spend the whole time

talking like this, because he's very tall. It's like talking to Dominic

Inglot, Davis Cup player. And David Lloyd with us as well. Where is the

balance of power in the Murray match, how crucial was the game last

night? Massive. I think go into the match and it's not one set all right

now, it's 5-5. In a tie-break, Murray will be stronger, when Seppi

isn't really quite into the match. And if he's 2-0 in sets, he could

win the third set. He's fresh enough to play the doubles. How key is it

for Murray to win this game, if he can, as quickly as possible, to then

aleaf himself -- leave himself enough in the tank for the doubles?

If it's a long game, somebody will have to make a decision, presumably

Andy himself, that's a redundant question, but that could determine

the outcome of the tie. Absolutely. Unfortunately as we know with Andy,

he's not an early morning player. He doesn't like starting early. He's

got to start quickly today. Obviously... He can be quite a slow

starter, even in the evening. That's true too! If he can get through

somehow, the second set will be crucial. He's got to come out firing

off the bat. If he can get that and win in three strait, he'll play the

doubles. If he goes into four or five, I think he'll play doubles

either way and win this match. The quicker the better for us to win the

quicker the better for us to winthe the tie. Speak to Russell Fuller,

our tennis correspondent in Naples for us. The weather, we can see,

yesterday you were batoned down under an unbrela -- umbrella, and

it's a nicer day. Beautiful today, glorious. The forecast, though I

vowed to give up meteorology yesterday, it's sunshine and

showers. There was a queue until a few minutes ago, 70 or 80 metres

back, full of British fans, about 700 of them have made the journey

for this tie. People preparing to come in on a beautiful day, enjoying

the sunshine. Short sleeves and shorts as well. A sense of optimism

that not only can Britain take the initiative in this tie today, but

that we will get a full day's play. The forecast tomorrow is excellent

too. If the showers avoid us this afternoon, there's every chance we

will be back on track by close of play. You were discussing with your

press colleagues last night, in a restaurant in Naples, how important

that last game was last night for Andy Murray to get things all

square, what was the general consensus? Well, I think that Great

Britain are strong enough nowadays to have been able to resist the

obvious momentum bounce Seppi winning the second set would have

given the Italians. But it's the fact that Murray knows then he would

have had to play at least two sets this morning and there would have

been repercussions for the doubles this afternoon. Leon Smith was

hedging his bets in that interview. He's clear that Andy Murray is the

number one player and he will play the doubles, unless, perhaps, he

plays three more sets and a bit today and decides that physically

it's unwise to play the doubles, ahead of playing Fabio Fognini in

potentially the decisive tie at 10. 30am tomorrow or maybe he's feeling

the after-effects of the virus he had earlier in the week. Otherwise,

I'm sure Murray will play. It's touch on Ross Hutchins, he knows the

score. He has to prepare for a match. He's Colin Fleming's regular

doubles partner. Buff he plays -- but he plays second fiddle to Murray

if he's firing. What state is the court in today? They made some

running repairs to it this morning. A lot of rain leaked off the covers

yesterday when they were removing those covers. It cost about an

hour-and-a-half in play. It probably was the firchs between -- difference

between finishing Murray's match yesterday. It was farcical the way

they tried to remove the covers with so much standing water still on

them, it just was impossible to get the court in the condition they

would want to. They brought all this dry clay on to soak up the moisture.

That ments, at times, it -- meant, at times, it felt more like a

long-jump pit. Leon Smith felt it was dangerous at times. They have

worked hard this morning, hence the later start time. It's looking

better. The sun is now doing its job too. That is crucial. It will be

fairly slow to start, but I think as the day goes on, if the rain stays

away, there's a good chance we will see a truer clay court surface today

and for the reverse singles on Sunday. Very much. Can you see from

that big, wide angle, they've created a fantastic arena there are

one side of the court decked out in the Italian flag and the other in

the Union flag and it looks terrific. We could see the Isle of

Capri in the distance. In terms also just of the crowd, because you were

alluding to this last night, we are going to show the last game of

Murray's game last night in a moment, the crowd can be a key

factor here in Davis Cup, in the way that it isn't almost in any other

aspect of tennis. It can and the Italians are ferocious away from

home. I've thought in the first match yesterday with James Ward,

they were a bit muted. The crowd was half full, because of the weather. A

lot of people probably thought the match wouldn't happen. It got louder

when Andy Murray came on. Andy stirred them up when he started

getting down on himself. If you get ratty with the Italian crowd, they

got on your back more. For Andy, it's OK. Not so sure it will be so

good for Colin in the doubles because they're maybe not as

experienced. The crowd can play a factor. We were discussing whether

playing against the crowd would inspire Andy, but almost, as we come

on to show the last game, it almost seemed he had to control himself. It

was almost as though he was allowing the crowd to beat him at one stage

in that second set. Absolutely, you don't need to give the crowd any

extra incentive to get on you. He was doing that by getting a little

bit upset with himself. So, he really had to focus. He knew that as

well as that, he didn't want to go down that set. To make it all 5-5 in

the second, that was big for the team. Let's show you the last game

that took place last night. We weren't expecting to be on air at

6pm on BBC Two last night, but because everything was delayed, we

had a fantastic teatime drama, the kind of thing we've been used to at

Wimbledon over the years, with first Tim Henman and then Andy. Andy

Murray was serving to stay in the second set and it went on and on and

on. Either way there will be some

singles action tomorrow, to go with the doubles.

That's a big mistake here. Oh, he's miss today! Worked so hard

during the point. That was a very late decision from him to hit the

drop shot. Again, he noticed he would have to have that low

forehand. Heaves thinking, I can't do that much with this -- he's. He

left that late to decide to hit the drop shot.

Maybe another late change of mind, possibly. He's got to be so careful

here. Crowd aren't so sure. But the line

judge was. It's out. Game point Murray to level

at 5-5. Surely that will be that for the night.

He really pulled up there. That didn't look good.

He's complaining he can't see the ball.

This could be the last point of the day's play.

Good serve. That's the serve he normally goes to.

That's his favourite serves by miles.

These guys, despite being seasoned pros, are very tired right now. They

know how much rests on this point. Oh, that was a tight looking

forehand. He really pulled off that one, middle of the net. That's a

sign of nerves. He was in a good position here. That

is a tight looking forehand. No body turn whatsoever. It was all

just arm. Oh, these points. I'm getting tight

watching it. This is really, I mean, if you have any kids watching at

home and you've played this kind of rallies, crosscourt, down-the-line

for as long as you can, that's the reason you do these drills, so you

don't break down when you come to pressure situations. Eventually

someone has to. My goodness. What a volley. Judy looking on

there, was she? He had to see that one pretty well. He said he can't

see. This one came at him fast. That was perfect technique. That was a

difficult volley. He used his legs well there. He does, gets down well.

Racquet out in front. Eyes close to the ball.

Oh, Seppi's broken off on the point. He's got to be sure here. He's got

to be sure that it's wide and a double fault. It's close. It's a

double fault! Oh, my goodness. What drama late in the day in Naples.

Wow. Murray to his eternal credit accepts the call and doesn't take it

any further. That is gutsy to stop a point mid-point. Especially as he

said he can't see. That is gutsy. He's getting nervous too. He wants

out. Well done Murray. I mean, our

nerves, your nerves at home and the umpire's nerves, what about that,

saving all these set points. Seppi was waiting for the backhand there.

He was surprised by the forehand. I don't think he's missed a first

serve on the break points. Oh, he's dug out that point, Murray!

Now he's got a game point. It had to happen, that almost

certainly the final game of the day turns out to be one of the longest

games of the day. And the best game of the day. Absolutely right.

Oh, yes! Andy Murray stylishly moving to 5-5 in the second set.

That will be it for the day. Racquet into the bag.

STUDIO: It was almost just as agonising watching it a second time.

There Andy Murray one set to the good and 5-5 in the second. This was

him practising on one of the outside courts at the magnificent Naples

tennis courts. It's reminiscent of Monte Carlo. He and his opponent,

Andreas Seppi will be on court shortly. Big names have been in

action over the course of the last 24 hours in these quarter finals in

the Davis Cup, not least Roger Federer, who raz won something of a

-- who was on a salvage mission after Stanislas Wawrinka lost the

first rubber against Kazakhstan. The winner of this tie will play the

winner of Italy against Great Britain. Here's Federer beating

Kukushkin in straight sets. That's 1-1 going into the doubles. Federer

and Wawrinka play doubles today. This is the biggest upset so far,

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga losing an epic five-setter against the German. That

means it's only seven times in the history of the Davis Cup has a

country come back from 2-0 down to win a tie. The odds are firmly

against Germany there. Can you see at the top of the caption, the Czech

Republic, the defending champions are through already after victory in

the doubles today against Japan in Tokyo. They are the first of the

semifinalists to be decided. I mention that it's a real, real

rarity in Davis Cup to come from 2-0 down to win it. France are very much

up against. It that's why it's almost impossible to overestimate

how important it is for Andy Murray to square things up today. It's

huge. I think Germany, France might come back to win that 3-2. Having

said that, that's the beauty of Davis Cup. You get people ranked

over 100, and they beat a player like Tsonga. Against a huge French

crowd. We saw James Ward yet in three sets going up against the

number 13 in the word. It's what Davis Cup is all about. That doesn't

alter the fact that Andy Murray has to make this one apiece because then

the pressure is almost insurmountable. Andy will be able to

come through, I think. There's still the doubles. The boys can get the

job done. There hopefully, we'll see a 2-1 lead by the end of the day. I

think Andy is heading towards the court at the moment with his

captain, Leon Smith. What will Andy have - would will he have sought

advice, perhaps the wrong word, but thoughts of over the course of the

last 12 hours or so? Does he, in the current mode of Andy Murray, does he

talk to his mum? Would he have run Lendl last night, what will he have

done? I don't think lendle would have come into it. I think his mum

probably. They would have had a general conversation. The important

thing is he's a quick -- he needs a quick start. When you've won two

grand slams, you don't need that much. It's just the obvious little

things just to keep him going, get ready for tomorrow. He looks very

calm and relaxed and smiling away there in the sunshine, I have to

say. Would you rather be serving or receiving in this situation, first

game? It depends. Me personally, I would like to be serving. No

kidding! 150mph! For normal people, what would they like? They might

like to return first because they want to get their eye in. Even if

they lose that game, they have a bit of groundies under the belt, take it

into their service game. You don't want to be too cold and if you get

broken, it could be end of set already. Again, it depends on who

you are, I think Andy maybe would like the fact that he's returning

first. I agree with that. I think he'll be peppering the Seppi

forehand awes much as possible early on. His forehand goes when he gets

tired. We saw that yesterday. I'd be surprised if Andy doesn't pepper

that as much as he can in the first couple of games. Was extraordinary

confidence or amazing hand-eye coordination for Seppi to stop a

point on "Second serve at deuce and 4-5. In dark light. He couldn't see

the ball any way. Remarkable. I thought he'd messed up to be honest.

We were watching obviously, but I thaut he'd messed that up. It would

have been amazing if he had done. See Leon Smith there. You've been

part of this squad, I'm sure when Leon Smith got the job, a lot of

people, with all due respect to him, John you were a very high-profile

player and a high-profile individual, when you were Davis Cup

captain, everybody knew about you. When Leon Smith got the job, a lot

of people within tennis, never mind people outside the sport, went "who?

". What does he bring to the team ethic? He brings a sense of unity to

the team. He's good at keeping the guys together as a team, bringing

them in. As tennis players we're all very individual. We focus on

ourselves. He does a very good job of bringing this team together,

unifying it so that we're working towards the same goal for each

other. That's one of his strengths. What did you regard, if you had

three things that Davis Cup captain has to do, has to be good at, what

did you feel they were? Well, you've obviously got to have a good

relationship with the players. You've got to be able to read the

players. It's an individual sport. Going back to Leon, why it was a

good decision at the time, certainly, it's proved to be a very

good decision, was that he was head of British tennis then. The younger

players coming up... Knew him. And he was going to be with them on the

off weeks at the NTC training centre. Another player like Greg

Rudsedski, was in the mix, but if you don't spend the time, you have

no chance. If you can spend 30 weeks with them, rather than ten, as I

had, makes more sense, with younger players. If you have high

international players, then the need is not so great, because they're

pros. They have been there and done. It they don't need a coach as much.

For the younger players, Leon has been around and knows them inside

out. It's proved to be a very good signing. We've seen from Germany

being 2-0 up against France, with their coach, who we suspect is a

German equivalent of Leon Smith, if you catapoult in a big name from

outer space and say take over the Davis Cup team, that's not

necessarily the best way of operating. No doubt. As you said,

you want to have a very close bond with the team and that's what Leon

has. You see him at a lot of tournaments. He comes to a lot of

the grand slams and Masters series. He will be on your practice court,

no matter who you are, and what time you're practising. He is there to

help out, if he can. That means that you want to then go on and win for

him, not only for your country, but him as well. You want to contact us

during the course of this morning and the afternoon, when the doubles

starts at 1pm, live on BBC One, that's your Saturday afternoon

entertainment, go to the BBC Sport website or the app. If you want to

contact us in terms of opinions that you have, what's happening at the

moment, then we have a Twitter feed. It is a Saturday, we are aware that

you have a life to lead, and you can't sit in front of the television

all day, so if you are going to go off and take the kids to sport or do

the shopping or going to do household utility work, then you can

watch or listen to radio five, Radio 5 Live or the BBC website, because

across the day and it could be a long, old day as well, you don't

have to miss anything. So, our prediction, we don't normally do

this, as they're about to get under way, what's your prediction at this

stage, John, for what the state of play will be come teatime tonight? I

think we'll be up 2-1. Murray could lose this second set. Because it's a

toss up. It's Russian roulette with two games to go. I think he'll win

in four or five. He may win in three straight and we'll win the doubles,

if he plays, which I think he will. I agree. I think he's going to win

the singles, agreed. I think he'll play the doubles. If he does, that

gives us a very good chance in the doubles. A grow with John, it's

going to be 2-1 by the end of the day. On that supremely optimistic

note, we hand over to our commentator, who was getting very

excited last night at the, as that second set drew to a close. I'm sure

he's calmed a bit and is building himself up for a tumultuous climax

today. Thank you John, good morning, good

morning everybody. I've watched too many Andy Murray matches over the

years not to get excited. You know what's coming. And you love it. We

all love, it don't we? Sitting through it and hopefully, like the

boys say, there's going to be a positive outcome. At the end of the

day, despite the drama of yesterday, Murray can still win this match in

straight sets. He can still get it done emphatically. That would get

Britain, not just back into the tie, but to set them up perfectly for

this afternoon's doubles, which will be live on BBC One this afternoon

from 1pm. There's the Italian captain. Maybe a little short on

shut eye by the look of things. But it was a long day, long, hard day

yesterday. A man who has played 61 ties for his country, 32 ties, I beg

your pardon, he's 61 years of age. His Davis Cup career lasted between

1972 and 1984 as a player, whereas this man, Leon Smith, never played

Davis Cup, in fact, he never played tennis at all to any sort prove

fegsal standard. Quite rare, in that regard, coming in at this high level

as a coach, but worked with Andy Murray from the age of 11. Right

through to the junior ranks as well. Now he's very much the man in charge

of men's tennis in Great Britain. Absolutely wonderful setting, isn't

it? Anyone fancy jetting off there tonight?

The forecast suggested it would be a bit grim in Naples this morning, but

the sunshine of the last few days has returned. Yesterday was, at this

time, terrible. Rain coming down and the prospect of thunder and

lightning as well. I thought it was really impressive yesterday from

Andy Murray for a number of reasons. Obviously, he has a decent opponent

in Andreas Seppi on the other side of the net. But the previous day, on

Thursday, he wasn't able to practice at all. He was in bed with a stomach

virus, which he seems to be over, at least, but wasn't able to take to

the practice court until the evening of the night before his match.

Also consider the fact that this is a swift change of surface for him.

He's been playing in North America on the hard courts. To start a clay

court season, which he normally would do in Monte Carlo, it's always

a tricky time of year, switching between surfaces. Now he'll be on

clay right through until the end of the French Open.

Time. All these clay courts are different. No two are the same.

Thankfully this one seems to have dried out a bit around the edges.

But that little corner, just to the right of Murray, the bottom

right-hand corner of the court was very sodden and was getting dug up

quite a bit yesterday. We can only say to you: Settle in

and enjoy because this is Davis Cup and it doesn't happen often. And it

certainly doesn't happen often that we're able to watch Great Britain in

a world group quarter final. A couple of years ago we were in the

euro/African nedgeer regions -- nether regions, zone two. Not many

of those people were in Lithuania in that snow-bound weekend then. This,

a much more hospitable setting. Nice town, though. I know you didn't

enjoy that weekend John. None of us did. But it's a nice town. Very

pretty. But happy to leave it. We had a few decent nights out, I

recall. Here we are in the home of the pizza. Naples, Italy.

This man is Andreas Seppi. He's the Italian number two singles player.

He's been as high as 18 in the world. He won a string of five-set

matches on the tour last year. Never count him out.

Morning, John. Morning, Dominic. Lovely conditions, much better than

yesterday. Yes. An exciting day today.

Straight in right at crunch time of a match.

This is not the start that Seppi wanted. He knows how important this

set is to his chances of winning this match. To be honest, I don't

think he has any chance if he lose that's set. This is not what he

would have wanted to start, it's so crucial that he holds this game.

Didn't look like a bad bounce. But you will always do that if you

mis-hit a ball. You can't blame yourself, surely not!

Good point you made yesterday, though, often you do get bad bounces

on a clay court. But sometimes you don't realise it, because these

players are so skilful they can make last-minute adjustments. Absolutely,

they are prepared mentally for that. They know going into the clay, it's

not a hard court. You will get bad bounces. They have to prepare their

bodies, in the best way that they can, because they know it's going to

happen. Andreas Seppi has just settled

himself in pretty quickly. He needed to. First two points were a bit

dodgy. Then a long third point and I'm sure that gave him a little bit

more feel going into the following points.

Murray was 4-2 down in this set yesterday.

The court's at it again. That's going to do a lot of good. I'm

surprised they don't have a roller and roll it till the cows come home,

make it as firm as possible. That's pretty bad. That's very close

to the baseline as well, where it's going to be massively used up.

Right then, first game of the day and after saving all those set

points yesterday, now Murray has a break point.

Thanchts was an awful -- that was an awful forehand. It's those low

forehands that he really struggled with. That's something that James

Ward, if he plays him, should try to use.

Well, you have to give the Italian credit there. Threading the needle

on two big ground strokes, in a row. This is the first one, fabulous

backhand. That was just inside the line, on the second. Break point

down, about to lose the second set. That was gutsy.

What a shot from Murray! He's taken a tumble down there. But he has

leathered that forehand. This court is ridiculous, really.

What's going on says Murray. He's absolutely right. He's got a

break point. Bup it's the same corner -- but it's the same corner

of the court they had so many problems with yesterday.

What a shot that was. That forehand was an unbelievable shot.

The return wasn't bad either. That's definitely, if you didn't have the

air cast on right there, that would have been the end of ankle for sure,

a twisted ankle, no doubt. You shouldn't have to wear ankle braces

on a court if you didn't want to. You're expecting a court to be fine.

Oh! Well the quality of tennis just picking up today from where it left

off yesterday. That's two big break points he's played there. Think

about how well you have to hit it into the corners on break points

otherwise you're going to be a break down, possibly 2-0 down, he stepped

up. Credit to Seppi there. It's what Murray does to you. He

forces you to go for balls close to the line.

That shot could win him the set here. That was remarkable. Looks

like there's only one winner of this rally from this position. When a

change of pace there, beautiful disguise.

You could hear him winding up for that winning forehand. It's the shot

that takes Britain 6-5 up with a break in the second set.

What a body blow this was to the Italian. He couldn't have played a

better game, there once he'd got back from 0-30. He still ended up

losing it. That's right. If you think about the points that he lost

at the end there, he got beaten by an unbelievable lob. Beaten by a

great forehand, big shot down the middle, which he wasn't expecting.

As you said, he didn't do a lot wrong there at the end and still

ends up losing. Over the course of last night and

this morning, Murray has now won four of the last five games. That

looks dominant on the score card, but it's beening in but. All those

-- it's been anything but, all those games have been tight. That's what

separates the great players, you know the big points, the points that

really matter, they come through 90% of the time. That's why they are

where they are. They just know how instinctively to hit the shots on

the big points. How to play. Remarkable nerve that Murray showed

there. Also in contrast to - you know

normally Andy is known as a slow starter. He came out of the blocks

firing. We'd love to see that at the beginning of sets more often, when

he's playing a normal first set. It's great to see that he's doing

that and can consolidate the break and can take himself into the third

set with a 2-0 lead. Just no way through for Seppi.

Murray setting up a total road block there.

Impossible to break down. Looking very strong at the back of the

court. He knows when to hit them nice,

high, heavy. He knows when to take a little extra time away from Seppi.

Seppi has no answers at the moment. This is wonderful tennis we are

watching right now! It really does not get much better than theirs. An

extraordinary point, well worked from both players. A good approach,

and he hit that drop volley from the service box there. This is a very

tough shot, and Seppi cars round the edge of the ball. He made it look

easy. The balance on the volley there was exceptional.

Very well played, Andreas Seppi. Really playing his part there. A

memorable Davis cup ties. Brilliant!? That well. He went so

early to cover the line and he read it perfect. That was a backhand

volley there from Andy Murray. He pushed this volley, this one here,

and he just steered it got away from it. Very good anticipation on the

next ball. He left that crosscourt wide-open, but he said that he reads

the game extremely well. He did it there.

Andy Murray is having his usual trick of wanting the same ball back

and he's not they have got it. Set point again.

I can't believe it. That is the second double fault in this game.

The Italian crowds doing whatever they can to try to put off Andy

Murray by booing him. Good luck with that!

Great serve there. He actually took the pace of the serve to try to get

the width on it. Sometimes you don't need a powerful cert if you place it

perfectly. You can hit the ball at 100 mph and it is an ace every time.

That is it. That is the set that Andy Murray so badly wanted.

What a set of tennis it was. The last format games, the whole series

of break points, game points, set points, double points, getting stuck

in the clay, and most memorably, some spellbinding tennis. The ground

him down in the end. From two sets down, the Italian is now, well, can

he do it? He had some comeback wins last year for sure, but against a

double grand slam winner, this man, Andy Murray, he has two have a very

slim chance from here. Naples, Italy, the setting for this

Davis cup quarterfinal. Andy Murray is in pain at times. His trainers

were getting caught in the sodden clay, not ideal. Both players are

battling hard, but right on the Bay of Naples. I like the look of

those! Send a couple our way, please! Very handy for those

spectators. Why would you sit there and watch television when there is a

bar right behind you? I had my eye on the beach in the background.

Clearly we have differing viewpoints about what we are looking at. That

is the athlete Dominic Inglot for you. Here is the Stirling University

support brigade dancing their way around the stand. And another big

weekend, this, from Andy Murray, hoping to lead Great Britain into

the Davis Cup semifinals. And what a weekend it was last summer when he

won at Wimbledon title. As Andy Murray starts the defence of

his Wimbledon crown this summer, we are looking for your Wimbledon

memories. Where were you when he won his title on the 7th of July last

year? If you have any photographs or videos of that moment when he won,

if you have anything and would like to share it, as part of that

programme, you can e-mail us. Do something useful with it before

you press delete. That is big. That is the frustration

that creeps in when you play Andy Murray. Seppi thinks he's in a good

position to win this rally, and then back it comes at him, angled out

wide, and he loses the point. That is his defensive ability, that he

can change an outcome of a point, Andy Murray, he is right up there

with the best. Once again, we see the pressure of

Murray's defensive abilities. Against any other player, Seppi

would have rolled that into the corner, but against Andy Murray, he

knows that not will be -- will not be good enough. He misses it,

because he knows that Andy Murray could do any of a number of shots

and forces his opponent into a mistake.

That is a brilliant point. That really is. Clay-court tennis at its

best from the Italian. Using the angles. The short angle, then he

gets around, good footwork, opposite direction. Murray, never able to get

ahead of that rally. Seppi so accurate.

How can he be that accurate? I think Murray is asking.

Lovely point, he took the second serve early, rushed Seppi, so he

couldn't get the ball deep and he stepped in on the backhand once

more. Good pressure from Andy. Third break point in the game for

Murray. Yet again, another game of multiple dueces.

He's not happy. Ever the perfectionist.

Oh, that went horribly wrong. If you get an overhead like that against

Murray, you've got to do better than that. That was only going to come

back with interest. It caught the line. Seppi saves four

break points. He has to to win. Good game from Seppi but Andy is still

upset at himself for missing flat forehand when he was up break point.

He knows you don't want to give your opponent points. You want to press,

but measured. Measured aggression. And he gave it away. He was

impatient when he hit the forehand, which is why he is still only in

himself. It is amazing, though, in terms of Seppi's first serves, he

hit some big ones. But he is loose now, his arm has got loose because

he has lost the first two sets. If he had done that earlier, he might

be in better position. When you get tight, the serve can get off a bit.

You need to relax, and he served very well in that last game.

We haven't seen Murray that stressed in a game for some time. It is a

sign of how much he cares, for sure. I think he also... He wants to get

this match over with. His conscious of the fact that an hour and a half,

he will have to play the doubles. He wants to win this in three sets.

However much you are a pro, he has got to take care of business. It's

difficult not to wander ahead in your mind, to wonder what is going

to come up. I agree, subconsciously, it's in the back of your head.

You're thinking, I've got to get this done with.

Lovely lob from Seppi. One each now. Murray just clipped it with his

frame but it still goes down as a brilliant forehand lob from Seppi to

win him the point. Just another example of these days, with the

approach shot, it has to be so good, the ground strokes of players, what

they can do with pace and lobs, it's remarkable. It was a good approach

from Murray. The string allows for that. Exactly.

Modern day equipment. You can understand why players are

hesitant to come into the net because of the passing shots.

That was a good sneak attack, but didn't get any reward for it.

Doesn't look to let Seppi get back into the match to let him get an

early break in the third. Good footwork to try to get around the

forehand to make sure he is in good position and he executed

beautifully. The last nine games of the match

have had multiple deuces, very, very tight.

No point going for that one. The time issue is a big factor. We have

two hours until the scheduled start of the doubles. I'm sure Murray

would like a break if he does intend to play with Colin Fleming.

Absolutely, he doesn't want to go on the court coming off not having

enough time to have a proper meal, a good stretch, a warm down. If he

doesn't have enough time to do that, and he feels like he is Russian, he

doesn't want to feel like that. -- he feels like he is rushing.

On the other hand, Fleming and Hutchins are the nominated doubles

pairing, established team, even though Ross has only come back, we

don't know what Captain Smith is thinking. The good thing is those

guys have played so much that if they are thrown on, they will be

ready because there is no use to getting -- there is no getting used

to each other. UMPIRE: Let, first service. It's not

my fork, the machine beeped! The computer says no!

Well, what a thing! A love service hold. That was an easy service game,

for the first time. That was a good weight of shot behind the Murray

ground strokes but then he found himself in a very awkward position.

That is no man's land, really. Stressful business on current

evidence, when you think back to that Wimbledon title, it makes you

wonder how he actually managed to get it done. And extraordinary final

game when he saved all the break points. If he had lost that final

game and in broken back, I do not think he would be Wimbledon champion

now. It would have been very tough. It was remarkable how he came

through to win that with the pressure on him there. You can't

imagine it. And when you also consider that he was under more

pressure when he was facing the break back point, when he was on a

deuce point, you could argue that the closest Djokovic tainted victory

was when he was match point down, because he had been playing those

shots with freedom. An amazing match.

Italy has a grand slam winner of course, years back. Italian women's

tennis has been on the crest of a wave in the last few years.

So we are going with serve in the third set. A few latecomers are just

behind Seppi, distracting Andy Murray as he prepares to serve.

Just oblivious to the world. Take a seat! Any one will do.

A good mix-up. Seppi knows that the reason Andy Murray is so good at

defending if here so far behind the baseline. That is why he is able to

cover the court. If he can't get through him, will have to try to

come -- forcing to come closer to the baseline. Good choice of shots

there. Also, in a weird way, losing the

second set has made him lose, Seppi. He is going for it more, his

forehand is better and his serve has got a bit more point she -- punch on

it. He's just going for it now. Tremendous support, when you think

of it. Very rarely, when you are playing the Davis Cup in Italy, the

opposing team supporters are at doing -- outdoing the home support

with the noise. It is amazing, really.

Three of those so far today for Andy Murray. And on big points as well.

Breakdown in the third set. The ultra-solid Seppi, perhaps he starts

to come back. As soon as Andy Murray loses a couple of first serves, that

is when he lets it slip. The thing though he is really good on the

baseline, he is giving his opponent free points. It is always important

to get your first serve percentage as high as possible.

Seppi broke for a 4-2 lead in the second set. Andy Murray hit straight

back. Looking to do the same here. There is the mark in the clay.

It looks like he has taken a bit off his first serve there. Is Andy

Murray is counterpunching off his first serve, he hasn't put that much

on it. He took that so early, there,

Murray. He did not give Seppi any time to recover. He makes it look

easy, but in time, this sort of ball, it is not easy to see how he

took that. He knows he has been letting him off

the hook there, in the previous game and in this one, he is letting him

get away with some of these. It is incredible how some of the

tower serves are followed by one fleeting back on the stretch. When

he has more time to think about it, that is when you can overthink and

make mistakes. Has he made it? I think he has.

Barry -- Andy Murray is not sure where the mark is. It was called in.

He has been bowled on so many of the break points he has faced today.

Just pushed it long. I have to say, what a flick on a hard volley from

Andy Murray. That has effectively won him that point. He got caught in

no man's land there, Andy Murray, and he improvised beautifully, but

once again, that shop there, he had to try to make it so good, because

he knows what is coming next with Andy Murray's pass, and he just

overcooked it. We have seen a few times today. That is the pressure

that Andy Murray puts on you. A rare lapse, Seppi double faulting

on that fourth break points. Andy Murray is back in the set,

retrieving the break straightaway, just that he did in the second set

yesterday afternoon. Seppi knew that if he is going to float lines to the

back, he is going to be rushed, and he has been rushed to many times. He

tried to change it up. It is amazing how tactics can win you points, but

it can also win you points later on just by putting on a compound in

pressure on your opponent, and then trying to do too much later on come

as he tried to do then when you try to return that drop shot. You have

to think about a couple of points ahead, not just the one you are

playing. He did well then, Andy Murray, to break back again. His

level has dropped a bit in this third set, and you expect the

scenario coming into this match, I thought he could lose that set.

Seppi opened up his shoulders. It is dangerous to play against an

opponent who suddenly gets loose. Andy Murray lost it a bit. A couple

of shaky serves. But a wonderful competitor, he bounces back with a

break when he needs it, and that is what separates the very good players

from the great players. Still got a long way to go, to close this match

out. He's playing against an opponent who is much looser and more

dangerous. It does not leave Seppi anywhere to

go with that shot there. If he had gone across court, he would at --

have been at risk of a runaround forehand drive.

That was bad. He finished three quarters of the way up of the net.

It is noted good double fault. It looked like he didn't accelerate on

it. He should look at the scoreboard and

draw encouragement here. It is now 3-3. And Murray is a bit

closer. It is a matter of the few games.

Seppi won't go away, he knows what it takes to win in five sets. He won

two matches in Wimbledon last summer in five sets.

Way to close on that volley. He just bumped it with his hands. How many

times has Murray and has abated that shot-mac? -- that shot? He has to go

one way and the other, Murray has picked it so many times.

I think when Seppi has that inside out foot, and he goes crosscourt, we

already talked about how he can't get the ball up and down which

leaves him that crosscourt option where he has got a longer part of

the court to go into, a lower part of the net to do it over, some are

better chance for Kim. And Andy is starting to read that. -- a better

chance for him. Opportunity here. You are right. He

is pushing for the lines because he knows he has to. You cannot leave

yourself margins for error with the very best players in the world.

How has he missed it? Cannot believe it! Great recovery from Seppi.

Unbelievable! Well, Saturday morning, and if you are a young

tennis player watching at home just learning the game, look what Seppi

does. He makes Murray play one more shot, and it is that shot that he

misses. So you get the point. Put in the effort, you will get the

rewards. The umpire said it was advantage

Italy! But it is break point Britain.

Murray this time doing the legwork. Great tennis. He recovered, he put

the high lob in. He keeps himself in the point. Just excellent. Murray,

buying himself a little bit of time and those points to recover

position. Again, this is great Saturday morning education for young

tennis players. Watch what these pros are doing. Let's go courtside

and join Russell Fuller. What's the word from the team bench about what

might happen in the doubles? I think there is very little doubt that it

will be Murray playing with Colin Fleming, that are subject to a quick

health check from Andy Murray. He will let snow exactly how that knee

feels after verse lied when he got his knee caught up in the clay, his

foot caught up. If he can win this match in straight sets, that has

been plan a and plan B in many ways for Murray to play the doubles with

Colin Fleming. Even though these sets have been longer than he would

like, you can see the glint in his eye and the absolute determination.

I do think he wants to leave it to anyone else. It's not that he

doesn't trust Ross Hutchins, but he wants to do it himself. That was

Russell, on court, and he will be talking to Andy Murray in a few

minutes time. Into the fourth hour of this match. He is ahead, 4-3. I

don't think the knee issue... You would have seen it with his movement

if there was any problems after the slip. And he has been moving like

lightning out there so I would be surprised if that is a factor.

Yes, I think his spirit is broken. Gave him a call of hope in the third

set with that rate but then incredible defensive play from

Murray. And now he has lost that will little bit. Great serving.

And thank you very much. Love service hold for 5-3. Murray is a

game away from levelling this tie at 1-1. It is building nicely, isn't

it? We knew it would be a tight weekend. But it is delivering on

quality. As much as on drama. Murray is turning on the style now.

He is heading towards the chequered flag of the match.

He cleaned the line! You have to give Andreas Seppi enormous credit

for kids role in this match over two days. Poor guy, he has fought for

over three hours, he has played some spellbinding stuff, and he has

practically nothing to show for it! Is going to lose in straight sets,

the way it is going. Just wide! That would have been the

shot of the day! Probably the shot of the day in any match for a long

time on balance. You get the impression Andy Murray

wants to finish it here. What a game of tricks and flicks and drives and

now match point. The second serve is something I've been impressed with.

Brighten the Corners. -- right in the Corners. I've really enjoyed it.

I know he had to hit an incredible passing shot, but he could use this

to -- tactic a little bit more often.

Murray really does finish it in style.

His last two games were absolutely critical, and that is Murray at his

best. Just serving great service, he

doesn't look like he's going to miss. Exceptional.

Well, he won the last five games of the match. Don't forget, he was

fully one down in that as Seppi launched a mini fightback.

It did not last long, though. These days there is a bit of a danger that

we take Andy Murray victories for granted. Make no mistake, that took

huge determination, skill and effort to get that done in straight sets.

And now give him the chance of an hour and a half before coming back

to play doubles for Great Britain. I think so, but he has to take care of

his recovery. That will require a warm down,

protein shakes potentially, a good meal to be ready for the doubles.

Murray, 6-4, 6-5, six -- 7-3. One of his best wins lately, I would

suggest. STUDIO: It is 1-1 at the end of this first tie between Italy

and Great Britain in Naples. And there is the scoring the other

matches. The Czech Republic are through the semifinals already,

France are 2-0 down against Germany. Switzerland are drawing with

Kazakhstan and the winner of that match will play the winner of this.

What did you make of that at the end flag?

Brilliant, I have seen it a thousand times with great players how they

come through and hit the big points when they are in trouble or

whatever, and you see it again and it becomes almost regulation, but

you don't realise how much pleasure he was under there.

Seppi came back in the third and once again he finds to great points

and that is what great players do. It is a remarkable performance.

There was a moment he was broken early in the third set and the crowd

were getting at them, but immediately he broke back which is

what happened yesterday. That is right.

You could see the spirit of Seppi after that, you was destroyed. But

some of the points, it was not like Seppi give it to him, Murray had

come with some extraordinary shots from defensive positions. It is that

ability has a new sealed over and over again, you almost expect it, he

comes through almost every time. How frustrating as it playing a

player with those looping forehand is that always gives a match as to

get into position? A complete nightmare, because in the end you

have to start going for lines, anything other than that and it will

come back to you. He has the variation of pace, the

drop shot, the big serve, he is quick as lightning. When you go to

bed the night before playing him he must think, heavens, what have I got

to look forward to tomorrow? Let's you from the man of the moment now

with Russell Fuller. Andy, many congratulations, the

perfect morning's work, a victory strict sets. Yes, the last few games

went by quite quick, but the start of the match, we came back on, there

was a long first few games and at the beginning of the third set there

was a lot of long games, it was good I managed to finish that in straight

sets. At least I can be an option for the

doubled if Leon wants to use me. You have to have that conversation with

Leon Smith first, but will you be wanting to play doubles this

afternoon to Michael it is not necessarily my decision also -- will

you be wanting to doubles this afternoon?

It is not necessarily my decision, I will speak to the doctor as well and

see what he thinks. If they are sure they are going to

get the job done and maybe it makes more sense for them to play, we will

go and chat about it now. Do you feel physically ready yourself?

I was a little bit tired this morning when I got up, but once I

got going I felt OK, I felt pretty good, it is pretty dangerous on this

court and you have to be careful and hope no one gets hurt. Finally,

there was that one particular corner where you looked like you hurt your

knee early on and is it difficult running across clade to completely

trust the surface? -- running across clay. This side is

fine, but there are a lot of bad bounces and that corner is

dangerous. I don't believe that is good

enough. If this was on the tournament, they would not be using

this court. They will have to talk about that after the tie because the

last thing you want is people getting injured because of a bad

surface. It does not need to be like that. We will let you go and talk to

the doctor and Leon, well done again, Andy.

Some strong words from our number one.

What do you make of the court? Years absolutely right.

It is disgraceful what has happened and whoever makes the report on it,

I would think they should be fined. -- he is absolutely right. It should

not be allowed in any group match in the Davis Cup for them to have

messed up the way they have done. It is unacceptable.

The match could hinge on what happens in the doubles that will

start at 1pm on BBC One, which we are assuming is going to be Colin

Fleming and Andy Murray, but that is yet to be confirmed. It is a pretty

safe bet. Football focus today is at 12:10pm on BBC One. We all to

mention as well that the women's World Cup qualifier, England against

Montenegro, is at 12:45pm on BBC Two. -- we ought to mention. Lots of

double faults to be an Andy Murray's game.

That was strange. He did not serve very well, his serve was a bit off,

not as many first serves as you to make and his second looked a bit

shaky. That could be a concern in the doubles. If he goes middle of

the court with those second service with not much on them we could be in

trouble. Assuming that he does play, the

decision to play him and Fleming, is there an element of a gamble in

that? Nor, I think Andy was very

diplomatic parent respectful to his captain saying that it is his

choice, but it is only choice, if he wants to play, he will play. -- it

is Andy's dreads. We have had some spellbinding tennis, Davis Cup

doubles invariably does not disappoint and we could be in for a

long afternoon and let's hope it is a good one from British tennis's

perspective. We will see you at 1pm, just time to

go and put a bet on for this afternoon.

Goodbye.