Andy Murray levels Davis Cup final with win for Great Britain

Andy Murray brought Great Britain level at 1-1 against Belgium in the Davis Cup final with victory over Ruben Bemelmans in Ghent.

The world number two won a feisty encounter 6-3 6-2 7-5, after David Goffin had earlier beaten debutant Kyle Edmund 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-0.

Andy and Jamie Murray are set to team up in the doubles on Saturday, before the reverse singles on Sunday.

Britain are trying to win the team title for the first time since 1936.

"Obviously on paper it's what people would have expected," GB captain Leon Smith said of the day one score.

He will now hope that a combination of the Murray brothers in doubles, and Andy Murray in the reverse singles, will secure Britain's first Davis Cup victory for 79 years.

Smith retains the option of bringing in James Ward for Edmund, should the contest come down to a decisive fifth rubber on Sunday.

The best-of-five tie takes place over three days at the Flanders Expo, with around 1,300 travelling fans among 13,000 in the arena, and security tight following the recent high state of alert in Belgian capital Brussels.

Edmund might have raised the prospect of an unlikely 2-0 lead, but once again it was Murray who got the scoreboard moving for Britain.

There was plenty of tension on display, despite the regulation look to the scoreline, and the Briton was docked a point during a tetchy third set for repeated audible obscenities.

"I didn't actually hear I'd been given the second warning," said Murray. "It's obviously very loud after the point.

"That was why I went to speak to the umpire, because literally I had no idea about either of the warnings because you can't hear anything on the court. So I'm surprised he could hear what I was saying."

Belgium captain Johan van Herck was warned about the noise made by the home crowd as Murray played the pantomime villain, celebrating wildly when he saved a set point in the third.

A straightforward afternoon had looked on the cards when he broke four times across the first two sets, but by midway through the third, he and Smith were berating umpire Carlos Ramos and the match referee as the atmosphere crackled.

Bemelmans played a superb game to break for a 4-2 lead but it only served to fire up Murray, who hit straight back and moved 6-5 up after one blistering forehand return, before closing it out on serve.

"The crowd were getting wound up and you have to use that your advantage," he said. "It was a good atmosphere and it is going to be tough over the next couple of days."

Edmund, the British number two, was distraught at the end of his Davis Cup debut, after a spectacular start had turned into a collapse with the loss of 14 of the last 15 games.

"You're playing for your country, you're playing for your team-mates," said the Yorkshireman. "You feel like you've let them down.

"I'll look back on it and I'll say I did my best. But you're right in the moment, you're emotionally attached to it. You're just disappointed you couldn't do it for your team."

Asked if he would be able to play again on Sunday if required, Edmund insisted: "I'll be ready to go."

Edmund became the sixth man in 115 years to make his Davis Cup debut in the final, and for two sets looked like becoming the first debutant to win a live rubber.

He saved two break points in a gripping opening game that lasted 12 minutes, and went on to dominate for the next hour with his huge forehand.

Goffin, 24, needed 34 minutes to get on the scoreboard at 5-1 down and his game all but disintegrated under heavy hitting as Edmund took seven straight games, and a two-set lead.

A wayward forehand from the Briton early in the third handed Goffin the break, and at last a lead, and the Belgian grew in confidence as Edmund wilted.

The forehand that had provided 14 winners in the first two sets produced just four in the third and fourth as he was quickly hauled back to two sets all, and a fifth set loomed for only the second time in his career.

Goffin had four five-set wins to his name, and with the crowd now well and truly energised he reeled off 14 of 15 games to claim a first victory from two sets down after two hours and 47 minutes.

"I was cramping up," Edmund added. "I lost confidence in my movement and it was bugging me."

Goffin said: "Kyle played an unbelievable first two sets. He was really aggressive with his forehand. I tried to stay calm, to manage it very well. People expected me to win the match, and that's what I did."

Davis Cup ties usually get a little overheated at some stage, but it was still something of a surprise to see just how tightly wound everybody became on the first afternoon of the final.

Crowds started gathering several hours before the start of play, perhaps with the widely publicised increase in security checks in mind, and the visiting support seemed to account for more than the official 10% of spectators.

Amid the giant cardboard cut-outs of Belgian players' heads, and the well-practised team chanting of the British supporters, there were a few early casualties of the ample refreshment on offer.

Interruptions to play and calls for quiet from the umpire are nothing new in Davis Cup ties, although the Belgian tactic of trying to "sshhh" Murray between serves was eventually deemed out of bounds by umpire Ramos.

"I didn't think they crossed the line, to be honest," said Murray.

"But as the server, I'm not going to serve when the crowd are making any noise because it's off-putting. That's something that in tennis is a rule really."

Belgium's captain Van Herck said: "I feel the crowd for a Davis Cup was very respectful. OK, there was noise, but there will always be noise. I didn't feel like we should get any warning or discussion about the public."