BELGIUM 3, ARGENTINA 2
Surface: Indoor Hard – Brussels, Belgium

Belgium will make its first appearance in the Davis Cup Final in 111 years after rallying past Argentina on Sunday in Brussels. Steve Darcis overcame Federico Delbonis 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) in the fifth rubber to clinch the tie.

Darcis needed four match points after being denied twice when serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. He would ratchet up his level in the ensuing tie-break, striking a sublime lob for 6-2, before firing an overhead smash into the open court for the victory.

“If you would have told me 10 years ago that we would play a final in Davis Cup, I would not believe it,” said Darcis. “It’s unbelievable. For our small country it’s pretty big. For me, it’s really big. I fought on Friday and Saturday and today was the same. David worked a lot too and gave us two points. He gave me the chance to finish the job.” 

Belgium reach the final for the first time since making its debut in the competition in 1904, when it finished runner-up to Great Britain. The nation will look to exact revenge against the Brits after Andy Murray led them past Australia 3-2 on Sunday.

A live fifth rubber was needed to decide the Davis Cup semi-final clash after David Goffin routed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. The Belgians had their backs against the walls following a four-set doubles defeat on Saturday, but Goffin would stop the momentum, firing 38 winners to prevail in one hour and 47 minutes. He converted on six of 13 break chances while denying all four faced.

“It was a perfect match,” said Goffin. “I was a little tight at the beginning, but he was too. It was tough on the legs and I had to find rhythm in my groundstrokes. After three or four big games in the beginning of the match, it was better and better. My job was to bring my point today and that’s what I did. I tried to stay calm and focused on my game and take a lot of pleasure with the crowd.” 

The World No. 15 has now won 17 consecutive sets in Davis Cup singles matches, going back to the 2014 first round tie against Kazakhstan.