It's all child's play for Great Britain with darts, bean-bag tossing and moustaches inspiring Dan Evans and Cam Norrie to Davis Cup victories in Austria - despite them having to make their own entertainment in lockdown

  • Great Britain have taken a 2-0 lead against France in the Davis Cup in Austria
  • British no 1 Cameron Norrie claimed a 6-2 7-6 win over Arthur Rinderknech 
  • Dan Evans had earlier beaten Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-4 in the opener

Locked down in Austria, Great Britain’s Davis Cup team have had to make their own entertainment and bond together in the evenings.

Judging by the energy they brought on Saturday in sealing an opening group victory over France, the fostering of team spirit has been very successful.

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Games of darts and cornhole (a bean bag tossing challenge) and a moustache- growing competition have contributed to them coming together amid the restrictions on life in Innsbruck.

Dan Evans beat Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-4 to give Great Britain the perfect start on Saturday

Dan Evans and Cam Norrie scored two victories to guarantee the win over the French and put GB in prime position to qualify for Tuesday’s quarter-final.

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A final score of 2-1 means that any kind of victory against the Czech Republic will put them through.

Norrie needed to save two set points before clinching the tie with a 6-2, 7-6 triumph over big-serving Arthur Rinderknech. He then pointed out how important the support from the sidelines was in an empty Olympia Halle, where no spectators are allowed.

‘You probably saw our bench compared to their bench, it was huge,’ he said.

‘We’ve been playing cornhole, some darts — watching the other matches together. Had some good chat. It’s nice to come together at the end of the year and share this moment, to be part of a proper team. It’s a lot of fun off the court and I think that really helps.’ 

The Davis Cup goes under the banner of The World Cup of Tennis and, like its football counterpart, there are numerous possible permutations in the group stages.

The picture became potentially clearer last night when Germany upset Serbia 2-1, with Novak Djokovic and partner Nikola Cacic narrowly losing a deciding doubles rubber after the world number one had levelled the tie.  

Cameron Norrie found his rhythm four games in to put Great Britain two up against France

Therefore the probable opponent for GB will be the Germans, should Leon Smith beat a Czech Republic men’s outfit who are weaker than their female counterparts. 

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A variety of outcomes remains open, especially after Joe Salisbury, making his debut, and Neal Skupski were surprisingly beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Rinderknech and Nicolas Mahut in the last rubber. Thankfully the days have gone when no Murrays meant no chance. ‘Our team is very settled,’ said captain Leon Smith.

‘The amount of matches he has played, Cam is fit as a fiddle. It was a heck of a match and shows you how far he has come and the confidence he has got.

‘With Evo, the most important thing is that mentally he was really good throughout the whole course of the match.

‘I thought he got the balance right, playing offensive tennis like we know he can do, while also showing his defensive skills.’

Smith insisted he isn’t concerned about the doubles result, adding: ‘The French pair played really well. It’s one of those things, you’ve got nothing to lose, and they were swinging away. They played great. We have faith in our doubles.’

Evans and Norrie were indeed impressive as they approach the 12th month of their seasons. Few players anywhere have played more events than them in 2021, often within restricted bubble environments.

The 31 year-old Midlander kicked it off with a 7-5, 6-4 win over languid left-hander Adrian Mannarino, who had been brought in ahead of Richard Gasquet. Evans was straight into his opponent’s face from the off, shouting ‘allez!’ in the first set, which saw him need two attempts to serve it out.

Mannarino missed some key volleys against the British player, whose first serve deserted him early on.

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Arthur Rinderknech started off slowly but eventually grew into the match as it went on

‘We find ourselves in a difficult situation again with no crowds,’ said Evans. ‘I find it hard with no atmosphere, so I had to really use myself, use the bench, use Leon to keep pushing, keep myself focused and get an atmosphere going.’

Norrie scored his 51st victory of his longest season, in what was his 75th singles match, when he beat Rinderknech 10-8 in the second set tiebreak, in which he had fallen behind 4-1.

The two are old foes from their days as top college players in the United States, and both have had career-best years. The Frenchman’s serve from his height of 6ft 6in is a handful for anyone. Both of them needed to win - because of the upset in the doubles, in which Rinderknech was a late replacement for Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Mahut’s regular partner.

Salisbury could claim to be the world’s best doubles player at present but, with a less familiar partner in Skupski, struggled in his first taste of representing GB. He was broken twice in the first set, with the French substitute proving the best player on the court.

The Czechs have a strong Davis Cup tradition but have only one top-100 player in Jiri Vesely, meaning GB will be strongly fancied to make the last eight.