Italy v GB - Day 3 Part 2 Davis Cup

you are switching over from BBC Two after what has been an agonising

hour or two on the final day of this quarterfinal tie between Italy and

Great Britain. Great Britain are leading 2-1 going into today's match

and we were hoping we wouldn't need a fifth singles because Andy Murray,

if he were to beat Fognini, he would ensure Britain went through to their

first semifinal in 33 years. But Andy Murray is a set and a break

down now. One of the best clay-court players in the world, Fognini, is

very much in the ascendancy. If Murray was going to come back from

this position, this would be one of the best wins of his entire career.

It is a great setting for a bit of sporting history. And, boy, what a

lot of sporting drama these two are providing.

I couldn't agree more. You have to look at this from the neutral point

of view, it is a fabulous match. Every rubber has been close. There

is a lot of tennis still to be played.

If you are just joining this match, Murray lost the last five games the

first set and Fognini took it 6-3. Second set, Murray was down to hold

serve, and it was a long six-game and it was crucial for the Italian.

Fognini struck with the single break in this set so far in the seventh

game. Those shots are so high, he has to

take it early, Fognini is already two steps inside the baseline. And

then you are in no man's land. Second serve ace to win the game for

Fognini. This has had everything so far. We saw Andy do this a few days

ago. There is no pace required. If you can just get the right

trajectory and the right angle, you don't have to do anything with it.

How well does he do that when he gets to the drop shots. He pushes it

a foot from the baseline. Here it comes. Just shuffles it down deep.

We have got a football crowd in the tennis stadium!

They know all about football crowds here with Napoli doing well lately,

and Rafa Benitez playing their old rivals Juventus at the weekend.

There's a bit of hostility between those two club sides.

Fognini is firmly in charge at the moment. And two more break points on

the Murray serve means that it is set point for Italy in this rubber.

This second serve might sum it up a bit. He's getting tired. Fognini is

expanding far less energy on each of his shots because he is using his

hands, his wrists, his arm on most of his strokes. And now it is a

little bit worrying. Just put this match into context,

this is how, the final morning, or the final afternoon, the World Cup

quarterfinals look. The Czech Republic have beaten Japan 5-0. And

they are playing the winners of France against Germany, Germany 2-0

up, France better yesterday, and Benneteau and Wilfred Tsonga are

trying to get their win. Switzerland are 2-0 down against has extolled.

If you've joined us, this is the first of three, because it is the

best of five, if Andy Murray were to come back and win, Great Britain

would go into the last fortnight. The way things are looking, if

Fognini does win, all the mat should and all the aspirations will come

down to a match between Andreas Seppi and James Ward, who played so

well in the USA against Sam Querrey to give Britain their win. So, the

pressure is on this man. You'd rather be in his position that Andy

Murray's. It occurred to me the last time that Italy played Scotland in a

major sporting event, internationally, it was in the Six

Nations championship, and Italy had far and away the best of the match,

and Scotland won with a last second drop goal from Duncan Weir. I'd like

to implant that thought into Andy Murray's head at this moment.

Murray has to come from two sets down in this man's backyard to win

this particular match. Get in touch with your thoughts wherever you are

around the country, gripped by this, I'm sure. Go to our website for

extra analysis and comment, get in touch.

We'd love to hear from you. If you're having to pop out and about,

there's live commentary right now on radio Five Live. And get the BBC

sport app if you haven't already. And I'm afraid that is what Britain

are dealing with right here! Inspired tennis from Italy's leader,

Fabio Fognini. That is the first to smile I have seen from the captain.

He very rarely smiles, period, very nice fellow, but he never smiles!

That is one of the best shots I have ever seen taken from that position

on the court. It's so difficult because you're facing the wrong way.

You just have to use your arm, and the timing you'd need to get that

kind of power... What a talent. Well, Andy Murray has an excellent

five set record over the course of his career, and he is no stranger to

2-1 victories. But this is a completely different proposition. 15

set comeback win -- one five set comeback win in the Davis Cup. And

the way this man is playing, Fognini, it is difficult to

visualise right now. This is where Andy, though, this is where he has

got to compose himself. It is almost like Houllier 's comedy show

Fognini, when looks at him, you've got to beat me. Thus -- it is almost

like he has to show Fognini. I wonder, he came out with a plan in

the first set. In the second set, he thought, I'd give it another shot,

maybe I can change it up slightly. So, in the third set, does he try

something completely new? At the moment, the match is in Fognini's

hands, the way he is taking charge of these rallies. Well, that is a

change-up, first-time we have seen that.

Sneak attack, serve and folly. -- volley.

First one he has missed? He is capable of going through the spells

of dodgy looking points. Murray has got to keep his level hive. Just

keep forcing him and hope that his level will drop a bit.

Just amazing how well he has hit that shot. He pushes Murray backs so

deep there and then, boom. Abbreviate the swing and drops it

glow. He has a career high-ranking at the

moment of 13. He saved match points in Indian Wells Open your other week

against Monfils. Then the final in Buena sire is. -- Buenos Iris. He

has reached the final of five of his last six tournaments on clay court.

On form, there are few finer than Fognini. On this surface. Murray is

going to have to hit shots like that for the rest of the day to keep this

alive. That was the right shot to go for,

he pulled it wide. He's got to step in on those and get it.

Murray having success down-the-line now. It is one of his favourite

shots with the backhand. Some say he doesn't use it enough. It is a

difficult shot and a great shot when it works. He leans into it so well,

extends the racket head. The crowd not enjoying the

celebrations of Murray, and the British spectators after that point.

Oh, well. There is the response from the

locals! Jonathan, you have had a lot of

matches in your time, is this one of the best atmospheres you've ever

seen? It is not the biggest stadium. But the noise they are making. It's

great. There will be purists around saying, it is too noisy, but I am

not in that camp at all. I like the way Murray is trying to hit through

it. That is one way to try to silence them. It's not like the

locals are behaving poorly. OK, there are a couple of jeers, but you

expect that. I had poor instructor at me! This is nothing! That was in

Rome, wasn't it? Yes, and in Barcelona, the crowd had a punch-up

after the match. Iran's away very quickly. How is their economy right

now? It is iffy, they've got to save those coins. It is hard work with

the sun beating down on this part of Italy. There are some great clouds

above, but it is the nicest weather of the tie so far. Dominic giving us

great insight into the extra physical demands of playing on clay,

particularly right at the start of the clay-court season. It is a

transition for all of these pairs from the hard court to the clay, the

different physical challenges that brings.

Murray just needs to have something to cling to. He has got to build,

point by point. But he cannot do that kind of thing.

He cannot give away cheap points. On Court yesterday, mid-morning, to

finish off his singles against Andreas Seppi. Still on court as the

sun was sweeping down. Then he finished off the doubles

with his partner Colin Fleming. That's one of the toughest things,

the accumulation of fact. It's not just how many hours he was caught in

the singles and doubles, it was the psychological, mental tiredness of

getting up for one match, getting ready for the singles and then only

having an hour and a half, then preparing for another doubles which

was very emotional. The backhand down-the-line winning

key points. In the last service game, he lost

the returns. He had some chances, he was close. As it gets closer to the

finish line, that is when Fognini can start getting a little tired.

That was close, very close on the line, but I think it is just out.

Despite how relaxed Fognini looks, you've got to remember that he's

playing for his country to get to semifinals. This is their chance to

be the world number six or seven? He is down at number eight. Doesn't

matter where you are, there is going to be nervous. -- nerves.

He is starting to blame someone else for his poor second serve. That is a

good sign from the British point of view.

That is a big return to miss at 0-15 and he knows it. That was a big

point. That is the shot he does so well. I

thought Andy played a good point, a good folly. Great volley, but... He

is a natural clay-court mover. He makes shots look so easy. He is not

tall, is not tall comedy 's got a low centre of gravity, he changes to

rich and very quickly. -- he is not a tall guy, he has got a low centre

of gravity. Fognini is perceived as hothead, but

he has been playing great. He has. Pity for Murray. It was a big point.

Double fault and then a second serve to Murray's backhand, and all of a

sudden he could be up zero -30, but if you let off the hook, he can be

inspirational. He can reel off to three points. If you get a chance,

you've got to take it, and that is the one thing Murray has done

today, his first serve hasn't been as good as we would like either.

You've got to hand it to the Italian. He has played some tennis

today that is stunning. As good as anybody in the world on clay-court

when he plays like this. Different service motions. Murray

extends and snaps the ball better than Fognini. It is a good serve,

not too many aces, but pretty consistent normally. But Andy Murray

has not hit as many big serves and we would like, as many first

serves. His first service percentage is lower than we would have liked. A

lot lower. He got away with a mishit there.

Fognini's record in Davis Cup, he has only lost once on clay in 1

Davis Cup matches. You can certainly see why. That was

on his debut, you have to go back to 2008, against Gulbis who is a player

not short on talent himself. Won 11 in a row.

Good for Murray at the end of that point, where he let out a shout of

"Yes." It is important not only to keep that message to himself but to

show his opponent he believes he can win this match. He is a two Grand

Slam winner, that carries a lot mentally.

Two sidelines and one baseline hit in three shots. There is no beating

that. Look at this. That is the second

one. It hits the baseline. This one hits the sideline. Thank you very

much. How do you teach accuracy like that,

is it relentless practise. It is. You have to have the talent to do it

and faith. It is drills, over and over again.

That is a bad miss. He knows that. The chance of a break.

Start to see the finishing line here, just a little bit.

Two sets to love, middle of the third. Good hold from Murray. Very

good hold. Again, that was own those errors,

that is a cheap error, playing against this sort of talent, don't

give anything away, make him earn it.

Very lucky there from the Italian. That backhand down-the-line he hit

was going out and it hit the top of net and bent straight back in to

court. Got away with that one. Ended up playing a beautiful point

to close out the point, but very fortunate.

That was good when he hit it. You would see from his, it is just wide

and Fognini holds for 4-3. He edges closer, leading 2-0, two

games away po ten tally. What an effort it has been from the number

one player of Italy. Murray needs all the help he the he can get, the

staff and team mays will be cheering him on. Let us go to court side. The

team bench doing their bit, despite the fact their man is up against it.

They are encouraging as regularly as they can, applauding and cheering,

Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins are down there, Dan Evans down there

too, not selected ultimately for this tie, he has remain here,

supporting the players, James Ward not there, and will come as no

surprise, because there is only 20 minutes between matches and he may

need to come up very soon and go one better than he did in San Diego,

that was some win over Sam Querry. If he needs to beat Seppi to take

Great Britain into the semifinals. That will be some margin, the

greatest achievement of his career. Thank you. At least he has that

experience which could prove so crucial. Statistics. Tennis players

will tell you they don't read much into them, when they love them. Here

is an interesting one for you, Fognini over the course of the

match, has a better winning percentage of points played on his

second serve, than on his first. 68 percent first serve points won, 73

percent second serve points won. That is remarkable, because Murray's

attacked it quite often. That shows how quick he is and how well he has

backed up that serve from the baseline, because it is very

hittable his second serve, but if you move like he does, he is greased

lightning, I suppose he can counter act whatever comes at him. Now we

are at the business end of this set, now, now it becomes extremely

interesting right here, this is obviously a must win game for

Murray. -- must-win. Two very easy comfortable points for

Murray. He has been in both of these rally, no problem, then two errors.

The sooner he can get out of this game, the better, to put pressure on

Fognini as soon as possible. It is a sloppy game.

That is what the doctor ordered from Murray. Not to expend any energy

holding that servement you expect that is going to be a tough game for

him, won it easily, now, as Dom said he can pull all his energy.

Suddenly, your opponent, you have to serve again. It feels like you are

always serving, and there is more pressure. Someone has held easy,

that can subconsciously impact you. The sequence here of comfortable

service games. Goodness. I have seen it all. I have

seen it all. How on earth? Not only did he get that but win the point

from that position. Seriously, this is impossible.

That is remarkable. That is so demoralising as well. When you hit a

great shot and a person pulls that out and you are thinking what do I

have to do to win a point? What do I have to do? ! He covered the right

way, he did everything right, just inspirational tennis. This crowd!

It's all happening, really. Britain needs something to cling to,

John, at the moment the momentum well and truly with Italy. Two sets

up, 5-4. Murray is about to serve to stay in this match. What must James

Ward be feeling behind the scenes? 161 in the world and now he has to

come and play Andreas Seppi, and he will hope to, it is the deciding

match. Deciding -- rubber of the tie. He is an experienced Davis Cup

player. Listen to the crowd here. Great stuff. But he won't be

expecting this score line, psychologically he would have

thought this would be a close match at worsts, and to see his number

one, you know, sort of getting beaten easily, that is not easy

psychologically. It is not over yet. No. No breaks of serve, no break

points in this third set so far. But Murray serving to stay in it.

What a setting here. Look at that. If Fognini can win to more points

the noise is going to reverberate all the way up to coast, to Rome.

Now he only needs one more point. Three match points to Fognini.

He caught Andy by surprise. It goes to show you never, you know, give up

on any cause. If he can win this from 0-40, that

would be a great opportunity to break the next game. It is his

favourite serve here, crunch it. Fabio Fognini, plays one of the

matches of his life, to keep the tie alive. Going all the way in Naples.

What a performance. One of the best clay court which -- clay court

players in the world. There can't be any doubt about form. Too strong for

Murray on the day. Look at these scenes. People truly

believe and thousand nay have to be favourites.

They believe, the crowd believes. Unbelievable. The British did not

believe as much. This record he has of wins on clay for his country

continues. Still hasn't lost since his debut, Murray ice first singles

defeat in Davis Cup since his debut. Good effort from him over the

weekend, don't forget about the stomach bug he had on the day before

the tie. He has put himself out there. Fognini will be enjoying this

experience. He has been Italy's hero, all round the world, certainly

in Argentina, the last round, and now potentially here, on home clay.

One suspects he will be enjoying this adulation right now. Oh yes he

is. You don't have to zip your tracksuit up but it would help. So

James Ward, now then, what are you made of? Have you got another big

Davis Cup performance for your country left in you? Well, Andreas

Seppi is the opponent. That is next. Of all the possible scenarios of

that fourth rubber, Murray losing in straight sets was not one many of us

countenance, that is why fogging if is one of the best clay court

players in the world. His speed round the court was absolutely

stunning, and maybe there wasn't enough left in the Murray tank for

him to win that match. -- Fabio Fognini. The match statistics are

there for you, to see, but the bottom line as Jonathan Overend said

in the commentary, is come the hour, come James Ward, if ever there was

an opportunity, for you to write your name, in the annals of British

tennis history. There he is now, knocking up earlier on today with

Andy Murray. He will know that irrespective of what happened

against Sam Querry in San Diego a few weeks ago, this is a bigger

task, but the prize is so much greater, the incentive is so much

greater. The pressure is that much greater, but the opportunity is that

much greater too, for the Londoner. So if you need clarification of

where we sit on the match, then this is it. Set against that fantastic

backdrop. Obviously Fognini got things off to a good start for the

Italians by beating James Ward. Murray beat Seppi. That pep -- epic

doubles that Murray and fleping won and Fognini winning in straight sets

for the loss of just ten games against Andy Murray, and so now,

opportunity knocks for James Ward. -- Fleming.

I suppose if you are watching this morning and you are a neutral, if

ever there was a justification for the Davis Cup as a competition, then

this is it in terms of atmosphere, in terms of drama, in terms of

sporting ebb and flow. This is just fantastic.

It is. That is what the competition is so great. That is why we have to

protect it and make it so the top players play regularly, when you get

a match like this the whole world should see it. Not just Italy and

Britain. It is brilliant drama. I think we can go live to Fabio

Fognini, he is good value on the court, and he tends to be good value

off it as well. I have Italy's new national hero

with me, Fabio Fognini, you must be Italy's latest hero after that. No,

no, no. I just play better than Andy, that is the tennis. We know

that this sport is really difficult, especially Andy, because he plays to

win. The last match yesterday and today was a bit tighter with the

serve, I tell you yesterday, it was, I focus on my game to try to do my

best, and it is going in the perfect way. Today, I think, was important

for me, especially for me, because I beat a player like, you know, he won

everything, and of course because 2-1, it was a difficult match,

really tough, and then, you know, I was doing my best, and I played. You

played magnificently, there were one or two British fans that made life

difficult for you early on, but the Italian fans were absolutely

incredible, weren't they? That is the crowd. Especially in Naples, it

is always difficult, the support is today, it is unbelievable. It is a

sun -- sunny day, it is Sunday, we play two great players like me and

Andy, and you know, now I have no voices, I am really happy for this

point, time to recover well, do the press and now to do it... One more

win for Italy required now. Andreas Seppi, against James Ward, is that

match that you are very confident I Italy can win? Of course, we are

confident about it. I just say yesterday, it is everything can

happen in the Davis Cup, I beat Andy today, of course I, he was

favouriten the course, but you know, I tell you, just to think about our

game, I think. James, you know, he is a really good player, he played

good with me yesterday, but of course, if I had to say something

now, we are 51-49. It is an important point. Anything can

happen, but of course, Andy is going to be supporting for the team and

the crowd. Well play and go and enjoy the moment and enjoy -- and

join the rest of your team as we wait for Andreas Seppi and James

Ward to take court. They should be with us in about 20 minutes time.

That is fabulous Fabio, he says it is 51-49. You said it was 70-0

before the match. Would you revise that now? No. I would take 51-49

every time. I think it was talking to Dom about it, think in the locker

room, before, when Ward was getting ready at a set-and-a-half. You have

to prepare for a fifth match obviously, but deep down, believe

me, Ward is thinking that Murray is going to win this match before he

goes out there and then he is getting beaten easily. It has to

have a slight demoralising effect and it is wow I have to get ready.

That makes it tougher. To pursue that further, if James Ward woke up

thinking I probably won't have to play today, that affects your whole

body language, you mood, demeanour and suddenly it is like a computer

gear shift, you think, oh, I am going to be on now, not I am going

to be on, I am going to be on with the destination of the tie the my

hands. Yes it is nerve-wracking, and, I think as John said, the team

that the morale is going to be low, because that was, that was a quick

match and it was convincing, for Italy, so that is going to creep

into the locker room. They will try and keep him up beat, but it is

going to be tough. He will have to come out firing. James has the

ability, he has, he can produce an upset and he he can win. Will he?

That is another question. He has to go out and start fast, and really

take it to him. Talk about starting faths. Andy Murray got off to a

flier. He was 3-1. One or two in the back room team were saying it is all

over now. Slightly prematurely and it went, he fell off a cliff after

that We thought early on the first set was critical, and unfortunately,

Murray did start well, but you know, Fabio, he kept hanging in there and

all of a sudden, as we said that he can string these winners together

and show how brilliant he is, that is what he did. We kept thinking or

I did that Murray would come back, he would find way and we kept

thinking there would be dip in the the Italian games. We thought,

Fognini his form would fluctuate. But he was brilliant. I mentioned is

on the final point, his strength of hitting, his power of hitting but

the speed round the court is extraordinary. And it demoralises

you as a player when everything that you do is coming back with interest.

You don't know how the beat the guy. There was time whence we saw Andy

shaking his head and looking like he didn't know how to answer this.

The drop shot was a key weapon of Fognini in the match. He was placing

it on the six pence. When you think about it Murray is one of the

fastest players out there and I don't think how many -- I don't know

how many winners he hit but he probably one nine or ten out of 12,

something like that. They were from tough positions and Murray barely

got to them. If he did he was in an impossible situation. When Murray

did the drop shot and he has a great one. Fognini won almost every point.

He is so fast he not only got to them he put them way. We have a

point here, Murray was giving it his all. Despite that Fognini came up

with something that was spell binding. How do you play a shot like

this? This is one of the best shots I've

ever seen. That was a great forehand. I've never seen a drop

shot the way he got that one was just beyond belief. I think the

point is worth making is that there was a time when Novak Djokovic who

was a bit of a joker and somebody who might never make it to the top.

A couple of years ago, Fognini was one of those players, in the 30s and

40s who said, yes, he's always laughing. This is the shot. I'm

sorry, that shot is almost impossible, and Murray did all the

right things. Ticket winner from that position, it's impossible,

basically! Anyway, Fognini, ranked 35, 40 couple of years ago, always

laughing and joking, enthusiastic, he is smiling, he sometimes goes off

his right and also order of things. Suddenly, are we seeing the

emergence of somebody beyond that to somebody who could be a contender,

when it comes to the French Open, certainly? At some point, you

realise, you mature, you've got the ability you can beat very good

players, not on a regular basis, but you can see that, and you think,

maybe it is time to invest in myself, make the effort because I

can go and really do damage on this tour. I can win a Grand Slam. He has

that talent. If he can put the work in as well, it wouldn't be a

surprise. It would be great for tennis. I love watching him, to be

honest. He is a showman, you never know what he's going to do, half the

time he doesn't. Nastase, he won two Grand Slams, but he should of won

another five or six but he would lose his rag. He was so great to

watch that you think, what entertainment! This play is the same

thing and if he can get a little bit stronger mentally, he will win some

big matches. We will all be entertained. If we wind the clock

back 2.5 hours ago, when we were saying we expected Murray to win,

Jonathan make the point repeatedly that Andy Murray's record isn't

great on clay. What has Andy got to do to suddenly make the next step as

far as being a clay-court player is concerned? It's going to be tough.

The way he plays, he plays flat strokes. He doesn't have heavy

shots. On clay, that is tough, which is why he's so good on the hard

court and grass court. But we can't take too much out of this one

because he hasn't done this training block required to get the strength

in the legs that is needed. I don't know. That is a good question. He is

going to have to play against Fognini, natural is on this surface.

We were shell-shocked by the margin. We will all sane, it might be four

sets, five, but we didn't think it would be straight sets. Nobody

expected it to be straight sets to Fognini. Although we thought maybe

Murray might have won in straight sets. Get in touch with us. A lot of

people saying if Murray hadn't played the doubles yesterday,

Hutchins and Fleming would have won anyway, and Fognini would have won

today anyway. I would like to discuss that. To play to Davis Cup

matches, you look at the hour he was on court for the singles, the mental

strength of the night before and then winning that match purely

focusing on that, and mentally having to get up later for a big

doubles match, that is training. I think his serve was poor today. And

a lot of that was down to tiredness. That is all going to have

ramifications in later days. It's not going to be easy to stay

strong, as you would normally. If you've just switched on and you

missed Andy Murray's attempt to take Britain into the semifinals for the

first time in 30 years, here is the point at which Murray lost. In the

end, it was a tame finish to the game.

Fognini cupping his ear, saying, let me hear you. And the crowd letting

him bat-mac -- hear it. You could hear that every time anyone made a

mistake, there was a lot of roaring, which you don't see all the

time on the tour, because there was something special about this Davis

Cup match. So, this is how it stands on a Sunday afternoon.

The Czech Republic, the defending champions, are through to play

France or Germany. France are trying to be the eighth country ever to

come back from 2-0 down to win to progress. 2-1 down because they won

the doubles and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has won the first set against Kamke

of Germany. It is 2-2 with Italy, and Switzerland against Kazakhstan.

At the most unlikely of all results, Kazakhstan, 2-1 up after

their doubles victory over Wawrinka and Federer. Wawrinka is playing the

first singles for the Swiss at the moment and he is 5-4 up against

Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. I am sure there is a great atmosphere on that

court in Geneva. So, loads of tennis for you, who knows how much? There

is so much more sport to tell you about on the BBC over the course of

the next few days. The Challenge Cup fourth-round between Huddersfield

and Saint Helens is on today at 1:45pm. You must have been living in

a cave if you didn't know the boat race is on today. We have the

Olympic journey with David Weir at 6:30pm. Then highlights of the

Bahrain Grand Prix from 10pm. Still, it keeps on coming, our sporting cup

overflows with highlights of the Premier League tonight at 10:25pm.

All the goals from yesterday as well. And then our triathlon review

starts tomorrow. That is at 3pm. I am sure you will know that the

Masters starts on Thursday but our review of the Masters starts on

Tuesday at 1:50pm. So, Andy Murray, and we know his

background, but there is a perception that tennis is for a

certain group of people for a certain part of society but the LTA

is trying to make sure tennis goes out to the widest communities. Phil

Jones has been to Birmingham to see one particular initiative.

With a Wimbledon champion to call its own, British tennis has got a

colossal monkey off his back. The next mission is to change the

perception of tennis as white and middle-class and get people from all

walks of life channelling their inner Andy Murray. It is a cold and

damp day in inner-city Birmingham. We are in the heart of the seat

immunity. -- of the seat -- Sikh community. This man is one of the

pioneering tennis activators making this plan work. I was brought up

around here and I got involved and with the help of the school and the

tennis foundation and the LTA, they are helping fund projects like

this. It is brilliant what he's doing at this school. The key thing

is that we make tennis more accessible for people. It is for

anyone, of any age, of any background. Especially with certain

communities, we were not getting involved as much, especially the

Asian community. They go to an education background, to become a

doctor, a nurse, or a pharmacist. There are 600 new tennis coaches who

have been through fast-track programmes. This programme has been

very successful in getting people like him involved, giving him the

basic skills to give these sessions. In sped of communities -- instead of

communities coming to sport, it is the sport coming to the community.

The scheme is set to be rolled out nationally. The key is locking in

the enthusiasm of people and turning wide-eyed wonder into a passion for

tennis. You get to learn and play at the same time. The best thing is to

win matches together. I already know lots about football so I thought I

might learn tennis and become better. We need more people like Bal

doing such a good thing with the community. The whole emphasis is on

fun. This is why I am doing this and it makes me want to do things like

this, keep setting up different projects because, at the end of the

day, if they are not smiling, I am not smiling.

So, get inspired. There is the website. Even if it is not a

glorious day, get out to your local tennis club and get involved because

the summer is coming, and, who knows, you could be playing a Davis

Cup tie. That is what Andy Murray or Judy Murray would have thought with

her young boys all those years ago. Talking about Judy Murray, she has

been at Andy's hotel in Scotland. It has been a busy week for the family.

It is tennis a sport, John, that you don't play at at eight, nine or ten,

is it too late, or can you do it later? You can. Tennis is not an

easy game to learn. The thing when you play with the soft tennis

balls, I don't know what they call that, the soft tennis, I think it is

a tough sport and you have to get lessons, and it is tough for people

to take it up later. They swing in the park, they whack a few balls,

they pick the ball is out of the fence. You have to get more coaches

involved, and get lessons going so they learn the basics. But it is a

game for life so we have to promote it as a game for life. How many can

you play for life? Golf, swimming perhaps. In golf, you are mostly in

the golf cart! Curling! But you don't really get the heart rate up.

But the point is well made. The other thing, I personally feel that

indoor facilities are paramount in Britain. Whatever the weather is

outside today, you are less likely to go out if the weather is

miserable than if it isn't. It is a truism, isn't it? And you have to

make it less expensive but you have to pay for heating and lights. Now,

to James Ward. A couple of weeks ago, against Sam Querrey, James Ward

had arguably his finest victory of his career so far. It was this wind

that took Britain into the position we're in now which giving James Ward

a chance to get Britain into our first semifinals of the Davis Cup

for 33 years. That was his reaction at his extraordinary victory. It was

extraordinary thinking about what Sam Querrey has done over the years.

That was a monumental moment for James Ward, he can do it on the

biggest stage. How much more of a challenge is today? A lot more. Sam

Querrey isn't a clay-court specialist. Seppi is. This is a

ferocious crowd. This will be without question the biggest test of

his career. We talk about getting off to a good start but I would

guess this is paramount. If James Ward gets down here and loses the

first set, he has got a mountain to climb. It is going to be a snowball

effect with the snowball gathering momentum. You don't want that to get

bigger. If you can stop the rot, keep the crowd out of it, Seppi will

start doubting, he has a lot of pressure on him, he has a lot of

expectation on him. He is the overwhelming favourite. He has a

reputation of being a choker in matches and this is a big match. The

crowd expect him to win, they have never heard of James Ward before, he

is the overwhelming favourite. If James Ward can win the set, we've

got a match on our hands. If he loses, it's a struggle. As the match

was slipping away from Andy, would the Davis Cup captain have a -- the

option to change players? I think James Ward deserved to play this

match. He is an experienced Davis Cup they are. He has played a lot of

matches. And I think he will relish this occasion. I just think that the

ability of Seppi is great. He is a better player. I think this first

set is critical and I hope he hasn't been damaged too much by Andy

getting thumped in three straight sets, which no one was expecting. A

lot of people in the crowd will not know about James Ward. You might not

know about him watching at home. 161 in the world, but this is a

phenomenal opportunity for him to catapult himself into the national

sporting consciousness. How much in a situation like this is it about

self belief? How much does he have to say to himself, I know I am a

good player and I've got to seize the moment?

He has a lot of self belief, and the winds again Tursunov and others, he

knows he can win. He has to win one time and the pressure is on my

opponent, so let's go out there and do what I know I can do. Big

serving? Big serving and big hitting. When it comes to firepower

and attacking prowess, he has the type of game Andy does. Andy is much

better defensively, but if you can be on the front foot more, he

doesn't have to defend so much. He's got to get onto the front foot. They

say in the game these days you have to have big weapons and he has a

very good backhand and big serve. His forehand isn't bad. His mobility

is suspect. But he has to start getting in charge of the points. He

has to get on top of them otherwise it will be a short night. We can see

how close he was against Fognini in the first match. That will all be

stuff that Leon Smith will be pumping into him saying, look what

you did to the guy who demolished Andy Murray. 70-30? I've still got

to say 70-30. I think it is going to be close. I think Seppi will edge it

out, but I hope I am wrong. We think it is going to be a great fight from

James Ward. Because it has been a tremendous tide, looking at it, we

have had four falling from different matches, and it all comes down to

this. The last throw of the dice for Great Britain and Italy, and a large

throw of the dice for James Ward. So, interesting, your comments or

extensive during the Murray game. An overwhelming feeling for -- from

those watching that if Murray hadn't played the doubles today, he would

have been in better shape today. We are where we are, that is

immaterial. But if you have any thoughts of what might happen over

the next couple of hours, get in touch with us. You have plenty of

other sporting options to watch this afternoon, other lifestyle options,

too, so if you cannot stay with us on BBC One, you've always got BBC

Radio Five Live, you've got the BBC sports app and the website. This is

a fantastic looking arena on the Bay of Naples. How much do you wish you

were there cheering James Ward on on this glorious Sunday afternoon?

Anyway, let's go to our commentators.

This is a great angle we are getting. Jealousy for everyone

watching, I am sure! These guys are there, and they have offered

terrific support for Great Britain across the weekend and the team

needs them more than ever. I can completely understand the point of

view of those arguing that Murray should have been arrested. But look

at it this way. -- should have been rested. Fognini was great.

Yesterday, playing Murray gave Britain the best chance of winning

that match. So, had Fleming and Hutchins lost, Murray could easily

have lost today the way Fognini played, and then it would be over,

done and dusted, pack your bags, watch the Rugby League. But Britain

still has a chance right now. The fifth and final rubber of the tie.

Who will go through? Italy or Great Britain? Well, on the last two

occasions, Britain has been involved in tyres which have gone is the full

distance and they have won thanks to James Ward and Dan Evans. In

Coventry against Russia. And against the Slovak Republic as well in

Glasgow. James Ward did not win on the final day. Evans did. Evans will

be watching from the sidelines. This time, James Ward attempts to bring

it home. Important factor and figures for you. James Ward is down

at 161 in the world rankings. -- important facts and figures. This is

a mystery for all of us who have seen him play so well in his career.

He is from London, he is an Arsenal fan, who have just kicked off

against Everton. As for Andreas Seppi, he is 30 now, 44 in the

world, a career high-ranking of 18, just over a year ago. He is finished

the last two seasons inside the top 25, so a much higher level of

competitive play than his opponent today. Four wins on the tour from 12

matches. Has come up against some tough opponents. David Ferrer in

Miami, Wawrinka in India well. He lost to Murray on day one. It was

tighter, though, than the scoreline suggested. He troubled Murray.

Carlos Ramos is the umpire for this one.

Interesting start. Maybe it is a sign of how Seppi is feeling right

now. He didn't move his feet well, James

Ward. That was a lazy looking shot. The first thing that goes when you

are nervous is your feet. You've got to tell yourself to move your feet.

It sounds obvious, but that is what happens when you get tight.

That was a great backhand. Just struck on the line. He needed that

one badly. It was going to be 0-40. A good dipping passing shot, James

Ward. So tough to volley that one up.

The danger for James Ward is that his opponent might be too solid.

When you are way down the rankings like years, you don't have as much

competitive experience at this level, playing this type of player.

And that is the key. It is an early break. The comeback

in the tie is well and truly on. It was shaping up to be a good return,

but James Ward is not quick on his feet to get up to the ball.

What a shot that was! I don't think Seppi thought that at ten three had

a chance to get that back! You should have covered that. That was

the only place that Ward could have got to.

He is having to dig in, scramble, outmanoeuvre his man. He can find

his armoury. Anything can happen from Britain. But it is not going to

happen easily. That is a very good response s

really good from Ward. Because at times, he will have to do

some spectacular stuff if he is to which the match. There demonstrating

he can do the basic stuff and down there, toe to toe and win those

rallies. It was a good effort to come back, he loses the early break,

he looked tight in the first two games, to come back and break serve

straight away and stop his opponent going to a 3-0 lead, that was big. A

couple of rallies where he was not afraid to go toe to toe, and looked

solid. He has to keep the, sort of head in these rally, because the

movement wise, Seppi is a lot quicker round the court, and once

James Ward gets a move too much at the angle, he is going to be in a

bit of trouble. A good game there. Because Seppi has spent a lot of his

career being the number one ranked Italian in Davis Cup. It has only

been the last few years Fognini has got to where he is in the world. He

doesn't have much experience of playing deciding rubbers, Seppi and

his crept record not that great. Overall he has lost as many matches

in Davis Cup than he has won. -- recent. Lost in Argentina,

earlier in the year. Defeat to Raonic last year and

Cilic. A man who has struggled to win

really big matches for his country in this competition.

That being said, those three names are pretty tough opponents. They are

good players. Absolutely. I think the only time he has played

a live fifth deciding rubber was way back ten years ago. He beat Georgia

3-2. That is one of the points that is

too good. Ward did well, got himself out a couple of tough positions on

the court. Seppi does hit the ball early, he

hits on the rise, especially on that backhand side, he is dangerous.

It is interesting to see how much he uses the tactics that we noticed

that Andy Murray used against Seppi, the slice to get the ball low on

Seppi's forehand, we saw it already once in this match, but he hasn't

used it yet since then. James Ward is not known as the craft

player, he is more of a big hitter. It was so effective, that perhaps he

could throw that one in, to mix them up a little bit apse... And keep

Seppi off balance. A couple of free points on his serve.

The match has come down to a fifth. Highlights of Leon Smith's bold

decision to go with Ward again, rewarding him for his victory in

America. His rival Dan Evans watching on.

Vanes of course a man who -- Evans of course who has won this sort of

match, not this sort of match because this is quarter-final, won a

live fifth match for Britain. He would have loved to have played,

I am sure. Still think it is the right choice?

Yes, I think it is. If it had been on a different surface it might be

more of a close thing. I think on clay...

Evans has not hat a great record on clay and Ward likes clay. -- had.

Special Andy Flower his result against Sam query, it is tough to

rule him out. -- especially after.

Holds for 3-2. Break of serve. Winners through to

play either Switzerland or Kazakhstan in the last four of the

competition and what a weekend it has been in Geneva, Kazakhstan

surprisingly winning against Wawrinka on day one, and then the

doubles and how about this, Wawrinka is getting beat 1-0 in rubber four.

Trying to seal the day away from home against the Australian Open

champion. Keep you in touch with that. These are the scenes in Naples

today. Seppi and Ward both getting the instruction from their

respective captains. The British fans hoping that this is going to be

a fairly tail end to their weekend by the sea.

Certainly the locals are the ones feeling more confident at the

moment. That would be some upset if

Kazakhstan could complete the trick I have in Switzerland. That would

be, that was a foregone conclusion, that the Swiss were going to win

that match. I mean, if they win that one, that is one of the biggest

upsets probably ever. Wawrinka number three in the world.

Federer number four. Away from home. As a doubled team nay won the gold

medal. Exactly. It is unbelievable they could lose that match. . It is

not over yet, but still... Nice to be able to have Roger

Federer to come in and play your fifth and deciding rubber if it

comes to that, that might be leaving Steven Gerrard to be your fifth

penalty taker and not being needed. Tsonga is looking good in his match

for frans against Germany. Trying to level the tie. Two sets and a break

Tsonga leads against Kamke. -- France.

Lovely backhand. A little risky, but great execution on the left. He has

a very good handed backhand, he can do a lot who -- a lot with it.

That was one fortunate there. He picked the wrong option.

Seppi there, he faked it where he was going to go and held his ground

and stayed where he was and Ward played right to him.

Let us see if James Ward can respond as quickly as the last time he was

broken. That is an excellent 1-2 punch from

the Italian. Really moved up to it quickly. He

knows the return was going to come short. He gives his opponent less

time to cover the rest of the court and execute the forehand

beautifully. Oh, that's another one for Britain!

He will need a few more of those today, I am sure.

There is nothing that Andreas Seppi wants more than a nice stress free

couple of hours. Up toward to make this tight. To heap the pressure on.

-- stress-free. That is so good. Clay Court Ten

necessary there at its finest. I think he sees, as soon as he has

James Ward on the run, James Ward will back off to cover as much court

as he can. He has to compensate for having less speed round the court,

and as soon as he does that, he puts in a drop shot and James Ward

doesn't, he can't react to that. Soon as he does that, he puts in a

drop shot and James Ward doesn't, he can't react to that.

As Spot good hitting there. Good striking of the ball.

He seemed to increase the tempo there and the point well along. He

got more confident. Increased it. Just squeezed and squeezed a bit

more and got the area he was looking for.

Excellent recovery from Ward in this game.

Second time in the set, Italy have broken. Britain have hit straight

back. Great mental fort #250ud, that takes

a lot of focus and Den determination to keep bouncing back.

It's a big let off. An easy volley. I don't know what he did. He must

have taken the eye off the ball. That is what he said. That is

probably what he was is talking about. The captain will be say

saying you should have done it. Credit to James Ward he stayed after

that point, and twice he has been down break, he knows now, against

Seppi if he does go down, Seppi is not a great holder of his serve, he

can certainly break back at any time. And he is back in the match

again. A big match. Not just for the man

sitting down but also for the man standing up. Leon myth, the young

British captain, with an excellent recent record in Davis Cup. Just the

one refeet. Eight victories to his name. It is times like this, there

is only so much you can do when you are chatting away to Andy Murray,

one of the best players in the world, times like this a much lower

ranked player, when a captain has to earn his corn.

Four breaks of serve in the seven games so far. Ward severing now at

4--- 3-4. First set. That was awe surprise there from

Seppi, for hand down. -- that was a surprise there from

Seppi, forehand down. Nice sever from Ward. He could never

have expected to return from that. Terrific return. Seppi ahead. This

is a squash court forehand return. That is the way to improvise on a

shot. That was a fantastic return. There is the very very happy victor

of the previous match, who put on a magnificent performance today.

Fabio Fognini. What an execution of clay court tennis he put on today,

against Andy Murray. We will hear from Andy Murray at the

end of this set S it will be interesting to hear from him.

He wasn't quite in the right position. He wanted to hit a very

good shot from it. The better guys that are moving like Fabio and Andy,

when they are out of position they put in a nice high floater, give

them a chance to get back in to position. But there, just one snatch

at it and that is why he missed the ball.

Oh dear. Dear, dear, dear. He might be in the lead but he is far from

settled. He does get tight. This was a tight looking overhead. Manoeuvred

himself perfectly, and see he stopped moving his feet there and

got stationery too soon and was off balance on the overhead. Didn't get

behind the ball and attack it. Go after it.

That service... That was the middle of the service box. I know it

clipped the net but there was no pace on it. You can see he is tied.

That is why James has to come in and put pressure on even more.

Very good. If he is this tied serving for the first said, imagine

what he is like if it goes wrong. Oh, we don't need this. I wonder if

he can get the break before they stop. You can play through drizzle

on clay courts, no problem. What a dreadful service game from

the Italian. Huge bonus for Britain, if there is an interruption. Let's

be honest, how many good service games have we seen? That is just

nerves, right there. Once again, just showing you what it is like to

try and close out a fifth Davis Cup rubber, especially when you are an

overwhelming favourite. It looks like it is starting to come down a

bit here. It was forecast this morning. Fingers crossed it is not

going to be hard enough to force everyone off court. The Thai referee

has just put his jacket on, which isn't the greatest sign in the

world. -- the tie referee. So the last four games have gone against

the Serb, and six of the last eight. And even though Ward is suffering as

much as Seppi on serve, it has to be good news generally, doesn't it, for

Britain? If Seppi is getting this tight in the first set and Ward can

hang with him, there will be chances. I think if Ward gets into

his rhythm, it should be able -- easier for him to hold his serve

than Seppi, he has the bigger backhand and forehand. But he hasn't

found that stride yet, neither has Seppi. It would be good if he could

get a cold here and put the pressure on. I don't think it is going to

happen, the rain is getting heavier. Carlos Ramos has come onto the court

and I think everyone is in agreement that the players should sit down and

take a break. Often when the players sit down on their chairs in

situations like this, sit down on their chairs in

anything back in the hands of the grand stuff, do we? In terms of the

covers! Otherwise we will be back tomorrow -- the ground staff. Going

on what they did on day one. Ward has a very important service

game to come. After all those breaks, it is 5-4 Seppi.

JOHN INVERDALE: Effectively, it is on serve, to all intents and

purposes, which means the matches evenly poised. Everyone is bailing

out because of the weather. As things stand, it is all square as

far as the matches are concerned at 2-2, following Fabio Fognini's

emphatic victory over Andy Murray this morning, and that does mean

that everything, in terms of Great Britain's Davis Cup ambitions, rests

on the outcome of this James Ward and Andreas Seppi match. Not

surprisingly, Andy Murray was pretty downbeat after his defeat earlier

on. I know that will be a tough loss for

you, but you did run then, I know that will be a tough loss for

you, but I I'm sure you would agree, to an inspired opponent. He played

some great stuff at important periods of the match and that was

the main difference, really. When I had my opportunities, I was a little

bit disappointed in myself and when had my opportunities, I was a little

bit disappointed he had his, he was exceptional, so credit to him. You

have played a lot of tennis, in the space of 26, 27 hours, you had a

virus earlier in the week. Did you feel more tired than you would

expect to at this stage? I was tired when I got up, but I felt OK when I

got out there. It is hard in that kind of atmosphere -- not hard in

that kind of atmosphere to get yourself up for the match. I did OK

physically in the match, I have definitely felt worse in tennis

matches on clay and I have played a lot on this surface over the last

couple of years, and struggled with my back, but today was OK. Tell us

about that atmosphere. Where you are unhappy at times with the way people

in the crowd were calling out and a little bit of chat coming from the

Italian captain as you were serving? The atmosphere was a Davis Cup

atmosphere. We don't get that on a day-to-day basis on the ATP Tour,

but when you play away from home and come to these sorts of places, you

expect that. But, yeah, I just asked one time for the captain not to

speak while I am serving, because he's right there on the court.

That's not a major issue at all. So it was fine. And finally, it is not

over yet. James Ward has shown what he can do in Davis Cup situations

before. Yeah, he played a great match on Friday, and he has played

probably his best tennis in the Davis Cup over the course of his

career, so I'm sure it'll be another great match and there is a lot of

pressure on Seppi to perform, hopefully James will use that to his

advantage. That was Murray speaking earlier on. And I think the players

have now left the court, there goes James Ward, and it seems that the

6,000 crowd have all vacated the arena for various outlets selling

peanut pinot grigio and various things. Seppi is still on court, but

I imagine it is only a matter of time before he follows James Ward.

It is impossible to know how long the delay will be but the only thing

to say, from a positive point of view, that because it is a clay

court, and they haven't covered it yet, the conditions will not impact

on that kind of surface as they would do at Wimbledon court without

a roof or a hard court, where the surface can become slippery very

quickly. There goes Seppi. So both players are now off court and I

suspect it could be ten or 15 minutes or so. Who is to say? Very

conflicting weather forecasts we have had. One this morning said it

would be glorious and the other said there might be showers. The one that

said there might be showers was clearly a little bit more accurate.

Confirmation of how the quarterfinals of this Davis Cup

currently stand. The Czech Republic won yesterday, taking an

unassailable 3-0 lead against Japan. So they played two dead rubbers

today in the game and the Czech Republic are through, the defending

champions. They will play the winner of France against Germany. Germany

were 2-0 up in the opening singles but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has just won

in the fourth rubber of that match, so they have a deciding match in

Nancy. Italy and Great Britain, you know, is 2-2. And the winner of this

match, whoever it might be, will play the winner of Kazakhstan

against Switzerland. We mentioned this a few times yesterday, but

Kazakhstan had beaten Wawrinka and Federer in the doubles, which was a

real upset. Wawrinka is playing Kukushkin in the first of the

reverse singles and Wawrinka lost the first set, but just levelled it

at 1-1, I'm hearing. So that match is very much teetering and I am sure

there is a great buzz in the indoor arena in Geneva. But the point we

made repeatedly is that this is the only one of the 4/4-finals that are

taking place outdoors, and it was a brave move by the Italians --

quarterfinals. They could have faded further north but they too could

serve because of the guarantee of better weather --played it. Some of

those aerial shots are magnificent, nestling into the Bay of Naples with

the Isle of Capri out at sea, but we have rather been undone by the

weather, which kibosh to things on Friday for Andy Murray and provided

the major interruption at the moment. John Lloyd, we will talk

about the state of play generally, but also reflect on Andy Murray's

match this morning. He played well to start off with. He went after him

right at the beginning and was very aggressive, taking the ball early

and putting pressure on Fognini's server and it worked for about four

games, but Fognini just kept hanging in there.

server and it worked for about four games, but Fognini just kept His

movement was so good and his variety started coming about and you could

see why Fognini is such a good clay-court player. His footwork

around the court, Murray was trying these punishing ground strokes side

to side but he just sort of bands over and slides into the ball, then

comes up with a drop shot. Some of the points were magnificent. This

rally was 29 or 30 shots, the quality of the tennis, you look at

the score at the end, a loss of ten games, but it wasn't that kind of

match. The quality of the tennis, the hitting, was exceptional. That

was a great winner from Andy Murray, but actually, the outstanding shots,

numerically, were coming from Fognini more than Murray, and I

think perhaps in advance, you know, we were talking about would we need

to show the deciding rubber, would there be a dead rubber? Would award

and Seppi just shake hands and say, we won't bother playing at --ward.

We were kind of overlooking what an outstanding player on clay Fognini

is, you don't become number 13 in the world and be a pushover in the

Davis Cup tie and some of the tennis he played was magnificent. Well, his

record is superb. We didn't think this would be a pushover, obviously,

but I just felt the way that Murray has played, with the two grand slam

titles and, he has looked so good, and Fognini hasn't played well,

apart from today, when he needed to. He kept his head together. The

doubles, the first two sets, he was awful. He didn't play well against a

James Ward. But when the occasion demanded it, you could see, he is a

bit like killing the -- Nastase. Sometimes, he plays the wrong shot

and doesn't hit the ball, but today, he was tactically spot-on and his

movement was far too good. In terms of Andy's performance over the last

three days, how much do we think today was influenced by the fact

that he had to play a game and a half, almost a game and three

quarters, yesterday? It is difficult to say. It looks like he was

struggling towards the end, but that doesn't affect Fognini's

performance. His performance was just superior. I think Andy would

admit that as well. If he was fresher, would it have made a

massive difference? Maybe. It is not the shore. -- it is not for sure. We

had to rush through earlier, because the players were on court, but we

spoke about the overwhelming number of people on social media contacting

us saying that it Murray hadn't played yesterday, he would have been

fresher and wouldn't have tailed off in the match. It is interesting, but

there is no guarantee that Fognini wouldn't have played like that

anyway, and Murray would have lost. And if Ross Hutchins and Colin

Fleming had played yesterday and would have lost, it would be game

over by now anyway. Of course, he would have been fresher. Mentally,

to play the two matches, is tough. I think it did have a difference. He

didn't admit it but I think he was slightly tired. Whether it made a

difference, who knows? But as captain, Leon Smith made the right

choice. Firstly, Andy wanted to play. You have to get the rubbers

when you can get them. You can't predict and say it will get tight

and I will hold him back. Fleming and Hutchings are a good team, but

would they have beaten the Italians? It was 50-50 at best. And I'm being

generous. You have to be a very strong captain when Andy Murray says

he wants to play in the doubles and you say, "I'm going to give you a

rest. " It is not going to happen. If you are a number one player like

Andy, all Djokovic, and they want to play, you play them. At the end of

the match, match point, it was symptomatic of how the game ebbed

away from Andy, with neither here nor there shot at the end. I think

he was demoralised. It is not often that Andy Murray gets out and out

beaten by a player, especially someone who is ranked below him. I

don't remember many times it has happened. And to do it view our

nation, when they really need you, he will feel like he has let his

nation down. So it is a tough one to swallow, and that is why he has had

his head down. It is only the second time that Andy Murray has ever lost

a Davis Cup singles. The only other time he lost was his very first

match, his debut, against Stanislaus Wawrinka, many, many years ago. You

can see what it meant to be Italians after Fognini one. Absolutely. For

Andy Murray, a lot of the matches he has played in a Davis Cup have been

in the lower leagues, not his fault, he can only beat what is in front of

him, but for us to stay in the Davis Cup and frame to play, he has to

beat people in the top 20 and it is not easy to beat people in the

calibre of the group that will be in the World Group from now on. In that

British way that we do, deadbeat morose humour, we were saying that

if we play Switzerland in the semifinals, Murray is not going to

beat Federer, Wawrinka and then the doubles in succession, but stranger

things have happened. So it would be nice to have the chance. I hope that

if somehow James Ward can win this match, can you imagine that match?

Semifinals against... Wherever they put it, they could sell three times

the amount of tickets for that match. It is worth repeating that as

things stand, Kazakhstan are very much in the box seat in that match.

We all wanted to go to Kazakhstan big-time. I am googling all of the

best hotels in Kazakhstan. That is the later in the afternoon. As far

as the BBC is concerned, we have this, we have the Boat Race coming

up, very, very busy next few weeks ahead.

David Weir going for gold. A genius. Absolutely brilliant. Hamilton

trying to defend. A scorching summer of sport, right here on the BBC.

A lot of you are asking on Twitter, in the event of Great Britain facing

Kazakhstan in the semifinals, why would it be in Kazakhstan? It was

essentially tossing a coin because the two teams have never played in

the Davis Cup before. The reason we would play in this country against

Switzerland is because the last time they met in the Davis Cup, it was in

Switzerland, so it was a reverse kind of way. Now you know. Let's go

to Naples and see what the latest weather forecast is. We can talk to

Russell Fuller. They haven't covered the court, which is presumably

grounds for optimism? Yes, the clay court can take a few drops of rain,

but it falls as we saw earlier in the week, when rainwater was spilled

on the court when the covers were removed. They were close to putting

the covers on. The referee of this tie was under the umbrella, it was

"shall we, shan't we?" It has taken a lot of rain but it has now stopped

and I would say very amateur weather forecasting, looking at the sky,

there is a good chance we will have a good, long, dry period now and

hopefully complete this match. They have swept the court. No sign of the

players or supporters on either bench yet, but when they come out,

because they have been of for 15 minutes, there will be a

three-minute knock up, which will help James Ward, because it is not

easy coming out after a rain delay and having to hold your server. That

aerial shot we have had, we have assumed that the weather forecast

was in direct proportion to whether you consider are the Capri in the

background. Looking at that, it seems to be mist and fog, so is that

part of the weather conditions? I don't think the weather is coming

from there, but I tend to take it from the island of Capri as well and

I can see it clearly at the moment. It is meant to be beautiful. We

haven't had a chance to get out there. It takes around 75 minutes to

get out there on the very, very small island, about four square

metres. And a tourist resort, it helps if you have a few pounds or

euros. From memory, a very famous British author used to go to Capri

and found his muse, which acted as the inspiration for a couple of his

novels, but I can't remember who it was. It is kind of irrelevant.

Someone will look it up. Russell, just a quick thought about how the

match sits at the moment. There was only breaks of serve, James Ward had

his serve broken so many times and then managed to break back, he's not

going down without a fight? Know, very impressive start in terms of

attitude from James Ward. You can tell that he believes he can win

this match. Talking to him, there was very little debate about who

would play in this tie, him or Daniel Evans. He said that Daniel

very rarely plays on clay and because he has played a Challenger

level on clay and after his performance against Sam Querrey in

the United States, they should be very little doubt, but he has to

play well above his ranking. And he has been making too many errors from

the back of the court, both forehand and backhand. If he can get this

first set, Seppi is very, very nervous indeed. It is not impossible

that James Ward can win this but we are asking an enormous amount from

him again. You are back at elite spoke to Andy Murray, he seemed very

down, understandably so. Off-camera, what was he saying about the match

against Fognini? Very similar things. He was not making any

excuses whatsoever. He spoke a little more openly about the

atmosphere and he is definitely not using this as an excuse, he quite

likes the bearpit atmosphere. He says tennis can be a very polite

sport. Football is definitely not using this as an excuse, he quite

likes the bearpit atmosphere. He says tennis can be a very polite

sport. Footballers get abuse all the time a couple of spectators shouting

out "loser" when he was beginning to serve. Something that has been

slightly annoying the British team, according to Murray, is the habit of

the Italian captain talking just as a British player is about to serve.

He said in his general press conference that that is something

that has been going on all week. Thank you, Russell, we will come

back to you in a few moments' time. I suspect we will have play soon.

Gracie Fields, I have looked it up. Gracie Fields had a house on Capri

and Somerset Maughan wrote the Lotus Eaters about it. What does Leon

Smith say to James Ward in this rain break? He is playing well. Russell

said he's making errors and he is, but he has to go free. He has to

take risks, which he is doing, but he will also be saying that your

opponent is nervous, as we can see. Keep on him, keep it close, keep

going for the ball, keep that first serve going in and attack like you

are doing and this guy will go. That is what he has to tell him, your

opponent will go if you keep it close. The very nature of the

rankings means that the guys at the top are better than the guys at the

bottom, or more consistent, that is one of the key things. James Ward

spends most of his life playing against people who will occasionally

hit troughs in form which means that he will get a cheap points, one or

two and sometimes barrel loads. The disadvantage of playing someone like

Seppi, you don't get so many gifts, which must presumably put a lot more

pressure on you to know that you have to be more consistent and you

normally would be on a week --than you normally would be on a week by

week basis. It makes a big difference to how you approach every

point. Of course, but you need to think about it a different way. It

doesn't matter who you are playing, can I win one service game? Yes. Can

I win too? Yes. What is stopping me winning three, four, five, six? Take

it game by game. Can I break once? Of course. So do it more often. If

he holds his serve here, he has broken plenty of times, he will be

in the driving seat and thinking I have a chance, and Seppi were we

thinking, this is tied, I don't want to go down 1-0. And that is when the

crowd might turn. And that will be crucial but having someone like Andy

Murray in your camp for these training weeks, when you have the

Davis Cup, when you play with the champion like that, and you

practice, you see that they are so greedy. They hate making errors.

When we went out that like you are talking about Jimmy Connors, it was

exactly the same, it was almost unbearable, because you've refused

to make an error in practice, never mind in a match. And he looks at you

when you make an error and says, I am here for a tough match, what are

you doing? You play Andy Murray and you see he doesn't miss. James Ward

knows this is the level he has to get to and when you practice with

him, you automatically go up a level. So these Davis Cup wins, I

have always thought can help you with the rest of your tournaments,

or they should do, because it is a great learning post. When you are

training with Andy Murray, it is a lucky week for you. Apart from Pope

your country, your learning from the best. I assure that with this rain

break, Andy has been able to change and will literally be in James'

corner, which he hasn't been able to be for the opening games and I am

sure Seppi will have Fognini cheering him on as the Italians

tried to get to a semifinal. And, if from our perspective, Italy went

through and went on to win this Davis Cup, it does seem the

tournament is wide open. The only time Italy ever won the Davis Cup

was in... ? You are looking at me? It was your fault. It is my fault?

1976. They beat us at Wimbledon. Out, my fault. I think your brother

was involved as well. He was. It was. I am sure he not watching, so

it was his fault. Beautiful blue skies in Naples, I suspect we will

have play. And there is Andy Murray, showered and cleaned and

welcome to shed for James Ward, as this match is fascinatingly poised

-- shout. All of those breaks of serve and here we are with James

Ward, in a few moments' time, about to serve and try and stay in the set

at 5-down. Back to Jonathan. -- five -4.

JONATHAN OVEREND: Nice to see the sun in Naples, knock up so they can

get back in the feel of things, and then a fascinating position to

restart. James Ward, 4-5 in the first set, trying to hold a sequence

of four games that have gone against the serve. Six out of eight. Three

occasions, Andreas Seppi has led by a break, and all three times, he has

lost his serve straightaway. No need the covers during the rain

break, and no need for a jacket or sweaters right now. It is rather

nice out there and Carlos Ramos, our umpire from Portugal, he has been in

this seed many times before, the Davis Cup, grand slam finals -- this

seat. The crowd are trying to generate the

atmosphere a game during the knock up, so that everyone is ready to go.

There is the view out, it is looking a bit better, isn't it?

The train them from Rome to Naples, just a couple of hours -- just a

train down. Visiting the Rome Masters every year. Working too

hard... James Ward, then, come on. This is a good situation, because

4-2 down, and then 5-3 down, a lot of people thought he was out of the

set. And this man, Seppi, looking very tight indeed. The momentum is

with Italy, no doubt about it, and he is the favourite, Seppi, because

of his much higher ranking, but this is far from over. He really does

have a good chance, I think, in this situation. Now is the time, though.

A James Ward holder will put the pressure on again. -- hold. And the

nerves will just spread around the stadium, one would suspect. It is,

without question, closing out a fifth match in the Davis Cup, other

than the Grand Slams, without question the toughest thing for a

tennis player to do. Doesn't matter what your ranking is, and especially

if you are a heavy favourite, which Seppi is, it is normal to get a

tight anyway, let alone in the Davis Cup. It is a fun match to watch and

we have seen already, he has had three breaks and lost them right

away. He is tight right now. It James Ward can somehow win this

set, then we have a match on our hands. If Seppi wins this set, I

feel he will relax a little bit more and it might be troublesome. But it

James Ward can get this set somehow, we might be in for an epic last

match. Right, no setting in. No loose

stuff, no fancy dan tricks. This is serious stuff, as James Ward

restarts, serving to stay in the first set.

This is not too different to the restart Andy had on the second day.

Right in at the business end of the set. We didn't see Seppi do too well

then. . He telegraphed that one on the

drop shot. Could see that one coming. Seppi was on to it in a

flash. Normally, he is good with the disguise but Seppi got up to it in

plenty of time. Oh yes, that is a lovely hit.

Especially on the third point after a restart. A sign of confidence.

The line judges have been excellent in this tie so far, I would say.

Called a fault but Ward will get another go at the first serve.

Ward thinks he should have got that point. That is what he is

complaining about. Quite possibly. Hard to justify. The call bait out

as the ball hit the ground. Wide. Wide.

Not by enough -- much but enough and it is set point. Risky play there.

That was a typical shot shot to go for, he hit a huge second serve;

went for that one and went for another big forehand and didn't get

the balance right. 30-30. It has paid off in the past.

There was. There were a couple of shots where Wardy could have moved

up a bit. Instead of pressing and taking time away from his opponent.

He let the Balcombe to him. That gives Seppi time to come back to the

point. You sense he was waiting for the miss, during that rally.

Exactly. Look how short he is leaving the ball, beyond the service

line. That is not a shot Ward will be happy pushing long.

Unfortunately from a British point of view Ward lost his serve four

times out of five in that first set. And Italy have the lead in the

deciding rubber. Now this might be the time now where Seppi might relax

a bit and this is a dangerous period coming up here. Ward has to come out

and play solid tennis. Needs to, otherwise the tie will be

gone. Nothing Murray could do earlier about the form of Fognini.

British fans still have hope. Italy are heading towards the

semifinals as things stand. The key is to almost forget about

that previous set, treat it as a warm up. Say, you February what

let's start the match again, with a lot of time to get top story this

match still, and start again, start afresh.

That was all a bit wild there. Talk about Murray, is he talking to

himself, or when Murray, is he just talking to himself? You can't blame

him for that, if you had Fognini going nuts at you, you have to

mutter a itle bit. I would love to find, is he directing it, trying to

put you off on your serve? What is he doing? There is the great one,

the great man. What a player he was on clay. In fact he holds the record

for being the leading Davis Cup cup player and for having the most

whiches as well. -- wins as well. I knew he would be

there somewhere. Made 164 rubbers in total. Incredible.

78 wins in singles, 48 win, 42 wins in doubles. Celebrated his 80th

birthday last September. He was the captain when we lost to Italy.

He is looking very confident now. First set was huge.

That rain came at a bad time when you think of it. Now it has been

proved that way, but Ward had momentum, broke back. Seppi was

tight, 20 minutes break or whatever, and came back and now he is up a

set, and looking good. Ward ending a sequence of, four,

five, six, seven, eight, nine point against him. Close.

30-15 in that final game of the first set.

Digging in here, he needs to hold this game, desperately.

Good effort from Ward there. Needed that game badly. 0-30 down.

Keep thinking about his recent big Davis Cup performance, when he was a

set down to Sam Querry, in America. He was two sets to one down to us

the November last career in Coventry.

Came back to one on both occasions. -- Tursanov.

It is as if the crowd have lots of of their intensity. They don't feel

their man is in trouble and they have not having to get behind him so

much as the last match. Every point they were screaming in the last

match. Not out of the question but a lot of

them maybe felt the tie was over. Looking at the rankings they

wouldn't know much about James Ward. They wouldn't be inspecting his cent

Davis Cup history. No, that is true. So maybe that could play into

Britain's hands f the local cheer squad has lost a couple of its

number. -- hands, if.

A few spots of rain as row can see on the camera lens there.

A steady drizzle at the moment in Naples. The sun is out at the same

time. No immediate threat to play, it

doesn't seem. Captain Leon Smith trying to stay as

calm as possible. Just to reiterate the simple facts he would have

dropped into Ward before this match. One or two key points to think

about. You can play through the rain on

clay court as long as it is not too hard. Remember one of those Nadal

Djokovic finals where most of it was played in if rain.

Didn't hamper the quality. I don't think anything can in

matches between those two. 40 times they have played. Their recent final

in Miami. And a victory for Djokovic in that

one. He had a good look that the passing

shot. Does tend to make more mistakes on the forehand side, on

big point, that is where you need to go to. You could have a choice of

the two. These errors are definitely

welcomed. You can see with Seppi, the

difference of when he played against Murray, Murray had to work very hard

to break him down, they were very long rallies and he's throwing in a

lot of these sort of unforced errors on the third or four shot for no

reason. That is all to do with the fifth rubber. That is what it can do

for you, if James Ward can hold it close, and hold his serve twice now.

He is still not out of this. A long way to go.

I don't think he is moving his feet, Seppi.

It is interesting, his serve and the follow up shot. We talked earlier,

the footwork is the first to go when they are nervous. He looks shackled

by fear. Just the impression. That last point. He is up a set too. That

is what is so... I thought once he got the first set he would relax. It

looked like he was after the first game but since then he has been

shaky again. It is possible he is making the aim

aion -- same assumption, maybe he thinks if I hang in there James Ward

will give it to me. In the first set he kind of did. Now he is starting

to get a few more balls in, and there, those cheap errors aren't

coming as often as he would like and he is thinks "Hold on a second, am I

going to need to do more here? " In comparison to first matches, it

is a bit hit and miss that match. Come on, Dom, it is not very good.

Itself is the first match of the weekend. The quality has been

exceptional, until now. -- it's the first match of the

weekend. No less dramatic. We often see that,

it is about getting over the finishing line. If you have to win

ugly you win ugly, you take the fifth rubber anywhere you can get

it. We have already had the main course

todayer for the tennis. -- today, for the tennis, this is still a

tasty dessert, just because of the importance of it.

A long way to go in this one as John says. An hour by hind on the score

board, but I think in Ward can up his level to the standard we know he

can play, there is every chance. Ward hit a good return. Nice and

deep. If he can do more, like that, just by taking the ball earlier,

think, instead of having to hit a great shot from behind the base, he

can hit an average one from inside. We know Seppi doesn't like to be

rushed. Oh goodness. What is he complaining

about? Break point down, a lotly let call.

He should be grateful for it. The way he is playing he will need all

the luck he can get to get this done.

Apologises. Doesn't mean it and on we go.

He has done well there Seppi, because Ward played a good rally.

Mixing it up, using the slices. Might be the best rally we have had

actually. Good variation from both players, that forehand, that just

heavy enough and wide enough to get Ward out of position. Couldn't deal

with it. He played well there Seppi, to close

that game out. Just one or two signs that the quality might be starting

to rise. Not easy that. It is a very

effective shot against James Ward, the drop shot. Because as we have

been talking about, he stands a long way behind base, he is not the quick

foeser the first three steps moving forward. If you can hit a half

decent one, if Ward got this, he did get it back, but he has almost no

chance of doing much with that. I don't think you are too chuffed by

the choice there, your tennis team is behind ayour football team is

taking the a battering at the moment. Yes, less than happy to be

honest! What is it, 3-0 Everton? I think so.

Commentary later. The boat race on BBC One as well.

Loads of great live sport for you ahead, don't forget you can follow

everything on on the BBC sport website or on the move through the

BBC sport app. Get that if you haven't downloaded it.

Remarkable. Five service holds. Very risky shot there.

Generally speaking, John, for young players listening, when is the best

time to drop shot. When is it most effective. You want to be if you

can, right on the baseline, or maybe even before that and your opponent

is a foot or so, or past that, behind the baseline, that is the

best time. You get into patterns where players

hang deep. You get the patterns of where Tay like to move. You can get

in with a quick one crosscourt, a short drop shot where you hit it

firm and short and quick and they are almost no chance and you put

yourself in a winning position with that shot. It is a shot that has

come back in fashion in the last ten year, it went out of fashion for a

while. Oh well played James Ward. He has

played three stunning shots there Seppi did well to get to that and

hit a resent reply. James Ward's backhand is exceptional.

Talking quickly about the drop shot. It has come back in to fashion in

the last ten years since the power of the play that plays have got to

find a different way to win point, to get people off the baseline. For

a while there it wasn't being used. It is just another part of the

variety that you have in your game these days.

Ward doing well to get this game back to deuce.

He has given away a cheap point. You let your opponent off the hook.

That is a bad mistake on his favourite side. No real pressure on

that shot, just skies it long. Somebody so experienced, such a big

point like that, you wouldn't expect an error. It is good to see James

Ward getting fired. The shot was there, it was the right

shot, had the opening, didn't convert.

Well recovered, Seppi, but James Ward probably should have finished

him off. And the first break of set to go is to Italy. -- set two goes

to Italy. He certainly guessed the right way, he ran one way because he

knew he wouldn't have time to get to it and he guessed right. James with

a pretty good passing shot. Just the one defeat on Leon Smith's

captaincy record, that was to Belgium. And this man, the Italian

captain, so much success with the Fed Cup team in recent years.

Well, Seppi finally consolidates behind the break of serve at the

fourth attempt in this match. And he does it all to comfortably. He moves

to within one game of the second set. I just feel like James Ward at

the moment, the last few games, there is a little bit of panic in

the way he is playing and he is not constructing the points. The ball

comes and he is just belting it and it is either going in... There is

not much thought pattern going on, that is a sign of inexperience, just

panicking a bit and not getting into it. You have to go for the ball but

do it when the odds are in your favour and a few times here, he is

taking unnecessary risks. It is going to quickly, there is a little

bit of panic, I think. -- it is going to o quickly. I agree, he

can't seem to build consistent pressure. In games, a couple of

points are great, they're not so good. It sends a message to your

opponent, doesn't it? If you are slapping at the ball, almost like

you are thinking of the game when you lost your serve. And Seppi will

be thinking, I don't have to do too much, I have to just play solid. He

is thinking about and James Ward should not, might not be able to

take advantage of that. But it is difficult to get confidence when you

know you have taken two good shots and then suddenly two bad ones. You

can't build confidence. That is a little bit of what I mean.

He came out and hit a beautiful forehand down the line and then

misses a simple backhand by a long way. Just can't string it together.

One net cord apiece in the game. James Ward racing up the court to

get that and then all too easy for Seppi.

The chairman Philip Brooke in the background there in the blue shirt

and shades. Possibly dreaming about hosting a semifinal under the roof

of Centre Court. That would be spectacular. But we are a long way

from that at the moment. That will keep the set alive. Make

Seppi work for it, at least. Nice play.

He had the chance to serve for the first set, Seppi, he couldn't do it

at 5-3. He needed James Ward to help him out.

Well, both players have struggled on serve all afternoon, but Seppi

hoping for a second successive love service hold.

And there it is. Huge task now for Great Britain. James Ward, lowly

ranked, has to come from 2-0 down to win this tie. Has two still keep

believing, though. As do. And Captain Smith has defined the words

to make the difference. But a good job from Seppi, even though it has

been scrappy and nowhere near the quality of earlier.

This is for the right to play in the semifinals of the Davis Cup, which,

fit Italy, would be quite an achievement. They won the Davis Cup

back in 1976, runners-up on six further occasions. And here are the

scores at the quarterfinal stage, at the top of your screen. The Czech

Republic through, a fine recent record in this competition and even

without a Tomas Berdych, they got the job done in Japan with no

problems at all. You can see all the scores from across the weekend

flicking by. You can see Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol, the men on

duty, while the tie was alive. Jan Vasiliki is a very talented young

player -- Vesely. France and Germany is interesting. That defeat for

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the first day was a big blow for France but the

tie is level at 2-2 overall at the moment. Gael Monfils is a set to the

good in the deciding rubber. As for Switzerland and Kazakhstan, what a

tie it has been out in Geneva. 2-1 to Kazakhstan as things stand. Stan

Wawrinka is leading Mikhail Kukushkin 2-1, from a set down,

going with serve in the fourth set at the moment. So it looks like

Roger Federer will be needed after that surprise defeat in the doubles

yesterday. Federer will be needed to come in and salvage things for

Switzerland. As the number two player. Correct. That can't have