Murray brothers put GB ahead

Andy Murray and brother Jamie recorded a straight-sets doubles win to put Great Britain ahead in their Davis Cup clash with Luxembourg.

The Dunblane pair eased to a 7-5 6-2 6-0 victory over Mike Vermeer and Laurent Bram as Britain moved 2-1 ahead midway through the Europe/Africa Group II second-round encounter at Braehead Arena near Glasgow.
An improved Bram avoided more humiliation following his 6-0 6-0 6-0 defeat to British number one Murray Friday night, with the visitors making a decent contest of the first set before the hosts broke at their fifth opportunity.
The brothers then took a firm grip on their first Davis Cup appearance as a doubles team and Bram endured another whitewash in the third set.
Andy Murray will wrap up victory, and secure a promotion play-off against Belarus or Hungary, if he beats Luxembourg number one Gilles Muller on Sunday.
World number four Murray had not expected Bram to appear for the doubles following his demolition of the 27-year-old but the tennis coach returned to the scene of his punishment alongside 18-year-old Vermeer.
Bram did not lose a service game until the final set and Vermeer's youthful looks initially disguised a ruthless streak at the net, never so evident as when he unintentionally smashed a shot off Andy Murray's back.
But the teenager, ranked 971 in the world, lacked power in his serve and he wilted towards the end as the home pair streaked away.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Murray looked like he was on his way to another rout as he started with an ace but both Luxembourg players produced winning backhand returns in the first game to signal their intention of making a fight of the encounter.
Bram wasted no time in doing what he failed to do Friday night by holding his first serve thanks to consecutive unreturned deliveries.
The Murrays, cheered on by a large and vocal contingent from their home town, were in control of their service game in the first set, dropping just four points in total.
But the visitors averted four break-points and produced some emphatic shots at the net to take it to 5-5.
Jamie Murray, whose doubles ranking is higher than his brother's at 43 in the world, served to love and the Scots converted the first of three set-points thanks to Andy Murray's backhand return.
Jamie Murray smashed home at the net to break in the fourth game of the second set and the increasingly lively atmosphere in the arena saw the Great Britain bench standing up and joining in as the crowd sang along to the Proclaimers following a perfect service game by Britain's number one.
Jamie Murray emphatically averted Luxembourg's first break-point before Vermeer was broken to 15 as the second set went the home team's way.
The visitors were now physically struggling, although they forced three break-points as Jamie Murray served in the third game of the third set.
Vermeer was emphatically broken in the fourth before Andy Murray produced three aces after finding himself 0-30 down.
Some aggressive tennis from the three-times Grand Slam finalist helped set up three match-points and the hosts celebrated after the second when Bram misjudged a deep return from Jamie Murray.