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By Chris Oddo | Friday January 31, 2014

 

Andy Murray made short work of Donald Young in San Diego, helping Great Britain to a Day 1 sweep over team U.S.A on Friday.

Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/ Getty

Andy Murray played his first match on clay since prior to his back surgery on Friday, and the two-time Grand Slam champion made sure he got off the slippery red stuff quickly.

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Murray made short work of American sub-in Donald Young in Friday's first rubber, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 victory in 98 minutes to give Great Britain the lead, and James Ward completed the sweep with a five-set shocker over Sam Querrey, 1-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The tie, which is being played played in a pop-up stadium that has been erected in the left-field corner of San Diego's Petco Park, will resume at noon on Saturday when Bob and Mike Bryan take the doubles court hoping to keep the Americans alive.

“I played a good match today,” Murray said afterwards. “You know, I gave him very few opportunities when I was serving.”

Murray did not face a break point until the third set, and he only dropped seven points on his first serve all afternoon. The victory improves Murray's record in Davis Cup singles play to 16-1.

Concerned about how his back would hold up on the thinly layered and slippery clay that the Americans had set down in San Diego, Murray came away feeling confident that he would be fine for the rest of the weekend. He also showed some appreciation for the venue, which drew rave reviews from spectators on site and from television viewers as well.

“It's pretty cool,” Murray told reporters “Yeah, they put on a great site for the tennis. I'm enjoying it.”

He didn't enjoy it for long, as Young, a last-second substitute for injured John Isner, put up little resistance, particularly in an error-filled, 22-minute first set.

Young spoke of feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the fact that he was making his Davis Cup debut, the 138th American to take the court for team U.S.A in the competition. “Everything seemed like it was in hyperspeed and going quite fast,” Young said.

Querrey looked to be in position to bring the Americans even against World No. 175 James Ward, but he collapsed after taking a big lead late in the match.

Querrey didn't face a break point until the fourth set, but he let Ward hang around in the match when he dropped a second-set tiebreaker against the 26-year-old Londoner. After going up a break in the fourth set with a two sets to one lead, Querrey imploded and Ward took over.

Ward reeled off eight straight games to lead 4-0 in the final set, and never looked back from there. Ward broke Querrey five straight times to close the match and silence the American crowd.

He would serve the match out in style, finishing the upset with an overhead smash into the open court and letting out a guttural growl.

How did he do it?

"I'm not quite sure," said Ward after the match.

With the Bryan Brothers going for team U.S.A in Saturday's all-important doubles rubber, the Americans hope to be alive come Sunday.

Murray probably won't get the call for Saturday's doubles tilt, but he knows if he does he's in for a big challenge. The Bryans have only lost four times in 25 rubbers in Davis Cup play. “Obviously [to] play against the Bryans, rarely they both have a bad day at the same,” Murray said. “They are unbelievably consistent and great, great, great doubles players.”

If the Bryans do come through, America will still need wins from Sam Querrey and Donald Young on Sunday to advance.

 

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