Match three - Joe Salisbury & Andy Murray defeated in epic three-set decider

Joe Salisbury and Andy Murray battled hard in the doubles decider but came up just short - losing 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock to seal the tie for the USA.

Set one

It was a high-quality start from both pairs in the opening game – with winners from all four players – but a poor service game from Ram gifted the Brits an early break. The British duo saved a break point on the world No.1’s serve and fought off a net bending forehand from Sock to pulled 3-0 ahead.

Having got themselves on the board after a lengthy service game from Sock, the Americans eventually drew level thanks to some neat hands from Ram around the net.

After a frantic start, the match settled into more of a rhythm as they traded holds. With Ram and Sock hoping to force a tie-break at 5-6, Murray reeled off three textbook backhand returns on game points, before finally managing to seal a crucial break and with it, the set.

Set two 

The Americans missed on four break point opportunities on Salisbury’s serve in the third game of the second with the Brits seemingly having a mental edge over their opponents.

Competing against his US Open doubles winning partner for the first time since they joined forces in 2019 – Salisbury guided the Brits to what looked like a pivotal break facing Sock’s serve, but their opponents hit straight back. It was then Ram’s turn to become the hero as he connected with a clean forehand winner off Murray’s serve to edge 5-4 in front before serving out the set.

Set three

As the match moved from the evening to the early hours of the morning, neither side showed any signs of letting up. At 4-4, the Americans earned themselves the first break point chance of the set, but a poor lob from Sock was easily dealt with by Salisbury and the Brits pushed 5-4 ahead.

Tennis matches often come down to the finest of margins and as Murray’s volley at 5-5 30-30 slid along the net cord before bouncing the wrong side of the net, it felt like a significant moment. Ram and Sock went on to break and serving for the match, the American duo made no mistakes in capping off a hard earned win in two hours and 50 minutes.

Match two - Inpired Cam Norrie comes back to beat Taylor Fritz

British No.1 Cam Norrie overcame a one set deficit to defeat world No.12 Taylor Fritz 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 to bring Great Britain level at 1-1.

“Honestly, I owe it all to the crowd, you guys were amazing," he said after the match. "It’s just different to playing on the tour, there’s a different feel to the match – you’re playing for your team and your country. This sets it up brilliantly for a great doubles match with Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury."

Set one

Fritz came out the starting blocks firing on all cylinders. The world No.12 stormed into an early 2-0 lead - taking advantage of a few uncharacteristic mistakes from the British No.1.

It remained one-way traffic for the duration of the set as Norrie landed a double fault to give Fritz the double break. There were positives for Norrie at the backend of the set as he battled to hold on his last service game of the set, but little would stop the big-serving American from closing out a dominant first set in 38 minutes.

Set two

Having worked up his first break point chances of the match, the new world No.8 powered to a 2-0 lead, having found the line off a punishing forehand winner. A champion in Indian Wells and at the Rothesay International Eastbourne this year – Fritz put his foot back on the gas again and turned a 3-0 deficit to 3-3 thanks to his lethal weapon of a forehand.

As the partisan British crowd found their voice once more, Norrie responded in saving break points in three consecutive service games to keep his comeback dreams alive as they went to a tie-break.

A diamond under pressure, Norrie has won 15 of 21 tie-breaks he’s played this season and soon added another to his tally. A rare double fault from Fritz gave him the chance to serve for the set at 5-2, which he took at the first time of asking.

Set three

With the stakes higher and growing tension, the match gradually started to turn into more a dog fight, which was always going to favour the Brit. Into the business end of the match at 4-4, Fritz – who had been near faultless on serve – hit three unforced errors in a row to give Norrie the chance to serve out the match.

It looked like they would be destined for yet another tie-break as Fritz broke back, but totally unphased, Norrie broke Fritz again – this time to love. There was no mistake second time around. The Wimbledon semi-finalist fired two winners to both sides of the court as a wayward backhand from the American sealed an incredible comeback win.

Match one - Dan Evans loses opener to Tommy Paul

Tommy Paul put the Americans 1-0 up after defeating Britain's Dan Evans 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 34 minutes.

Set one

There were promising signs for Evans at the start of the first set. Paul showed brilliant hands around the net to overturn three break points at 1-1, but on the fourth time of asking, the Brit finished him off with a drive volley.

The lead however, wouldn’t last long as Paul bounced straight back and clinched nine consecutive points to edge in front once again. Evans would go on to break the American once more but couldn’t consolidate his lead as Paul continued to put pressure on the Brit’s serve.

Momentum continued to shift from either side of the court until Paul regained the lead at 5-4. Evans’s backhand came to the rescue as he fought off three set points, but Paul was equal to his dropshot on the fourth and eventually put the set to bed.

Set two

An early opportunity came and went for Evans at the start of the second set as he raced 15-40 ahead in the first game, only for Paul to come away with the hold.

The intensity and consistency from the British No.2 only continued to rise – much to the frustration of his opponent, who blasted two long forehands to gift Evans the opening break of the set at 3-2. With his first serve percentage jumping almost 20% from the opener, he held out for the rest of the set, levelling the scores at 1-1.

Set three

For all of Evans’s pressure and dominance in the rallies throughout the early parts of the third set, he couldn’t make it tell. Break points came and went in both the third and fifth games as Paul remained resilient.

In the end he got his reward and what looked like it might be the defining moment of the match – capitalising on Evans’s only double fault of the set to go 5-3 up.

Never out of any contest, the 32-year-old had the crowd on their feet as he finally got a breakthrough of his own on the point of the match – finishing a 32 shot rally with a beautifully arching lob. The celebrations, however, were short lived. Evans lost three points in quick succession on serve to give Paul and ended the contest with an error off the backhand.