2004 Apr 10 - Davis Cup: Brits take lead on Day 2

Great Britain have gone ahead 2-1 against Luxembourg in their Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 tie due to a solid win in the doubles (Rubber 3) by Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. They defeated Gilles Muller and Mike Scheidweiler in straight sets 6-4 7-6(7) 6-3.

Greg didn't feature in the singles yesterday and so this was his first competitive match since the Australian Open in January - as a result of the nandrolone charges which he has since been cleared of. Given the circumstances, this was the perfect match for Greg to test his fitness and all-round matchplay.

Luxembourg opened up the serving in set one but it was Great Britain who took a well deserved break which was enough to land the set. The second set proved to be much tighter with Luxembourg earning themselves a set point although they were unable to convert this rare opportunity and the Brits snatched back the advantage and then the set. The third set proven to be routine after the Brits took an early break and then held serve to run away with the match.

After the match Greg said:

"You can practise all you want but it is different being in a match situation.

"It's been an extremely long time since I have enjoyed a tennis match so much.

"I felt emotional out there because it's taken such a long time but now everything has been put behind me.

"I knew I had to keep those emotions inside and get on with the match but it was pretty comfortable out there."

Tim added:

"It seems that Greg and I click well together and we felt confident coming into the match.

"We knew we just had to be professional and that was the key. The second set was tight but we always felt we had enough to win."