 Ward won his second singles rubber to end the match in style |
Great Britain completed a 5-0 whitewash over Turkey in their Davis Cup Europe/Africa Group II play-off in Eastbourne. Leon Smith's team had already secured an unassailable 3-0 lead by winning Friday's singles and Saturday's doubles to avert the threat of relegation. British number three Jamie Baker and James Ward both followed up their wins on Friday with victories on Sunday. Baker overwhelmed debutant Tuna Altuna 6-3 6-2 and Ward then crushed Ergun Zorlu 6-1 6-3 to wrap up the win. Baker, 23, was broken in the opening game but won seven games in a row from 3-1 down to take control of the match.  | 606: DEBATE |
Ward, also 23, raced into a 5-0 lead before his opponent started to offer a challenge in the second set but his victory was never in doubt. Ken Skupski and Colin Fleming had clinched the tie, which was Britain's first success in the competition since September 2007, by winning the doubles rubber in straight sets on Saturday. The win was secured without Andy Murray, who has skipped Britain's last two ties to give other players a chance to gain experience. Smith, a former coach of the Scot, once again emphasised that the British number one's absence was not a problem. "When he wants to come back of course we'll love that because he's one of the world's best players and any team would love to have Andy Murray in it," he said. "We're all friends with Andy Murray, we've all got close relationships with him, and that positivity is something that we enjoy." Smith was also without British number two Alex Bogdanovic, who made himself unavailable so he could concentrate on improving his singles ranking.
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