• Davis Cup

Murray puts GB in total control

Andy Murray came through a third-set scare to triumph © Getty Images

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Andy Murray triumphed in the second rubber to earn Great Britain a commanding 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II play-off with Hungary.

On home soil at Glasgow's Braehead Arena, Murray put GB on course for victory by triumphing 6-0 6-2 7-6(3) against the unranked Sebo Kiss.

Murray was making his first appearance since losing to Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of the US Open, the third time he had fallen at the last-four stage of a grand-slam tournament during 2011. If he needed his confidence rebuilding, he could not have asked for a gentler reintroduction than a tie against Kiss, a part-timer who fits tennis around law studies.

After racing through the opening two sets with the minimum of fuss, Murray wasted four match points at 5-4 up in the third as Kiss threatened a shock fightback, forcing a tiebreak in which Murray reasserted his dominance.

"I thought he played very well in the third set," Murray said. "I started the match well and then when he started to play better, I made a few mistakes. He made the wrong decision going back to school, he should have kept playing."

In the opening rubber, James Ward triumphed 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-4 in difficult circumstances against Atila Balazs. Ward was suffering badly with cramp at the end of the second set, and looked to be in trouble when he went 2-0 down in the third before eventually losing it, but he recovered in style to triumph in four, with Balazs barely able to move by the end of the contest.

"I'm tired," Ward said. "It was unbelievable, I was cramping from the second set onwards. I went off court and was sick, so it was nice to fight through."

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