ANDY Murray insisted last night that he isn't prepared to let the partisan home crowd at the Flanders Expo Centre in Ghent ruin Britain's bid for their first Davis Cup since 1936. The tie stands at 1-1 this morning after a dramatic first day saw David Goffin fight back from two sets down to win in five against debutant Kyle Edmund, before the World No 2 equalled matters with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win in a feisty encounter with Ruben Bemelmans.

The 28-year-old's ninth successful Davis Cup rubber of 2015 came after he received a point penalty for two episodes of audible obscenity and Belgium were warned for the conduct of supporters who were apparently hissing as Murray prepared to serve, but the Scot diplomatically insisted the fans' behaviour had remained within acceptable boundaries and he tends to thrive in such circumstances in any case. "I didn't think they [the fans] crossed the line, to be honest," said Murray. "But as the server, I'm not going to serve obviously when the crowd are making any noise because it's off-putting. That's something that in tennis is a rule really. All of the players obviously wait until the crowd is silent.

"Yeah, I don't mind it [a feisty atmosphere]," added the Scot. "I'm experienced enough now to not allow it to bother me, and try to use it to my advantage as much as I can."

That sentiment was shared by captain Leon Smith, another man who was involved in exchanges with chair umpire Carlos Ramos. "It's a final," Smith said. "We've had phenomenal crowds at our home ties this year. So it's going to get that way, it's going to get loud. I'm sure that's why Andy and the other players love playing in it, because it's different. It was pretty much as we expected."

While both No 1 singles players had to endure moments of stress, the 1-1 scoreline was also the expected outcome ahead of Saturday's doubles, which for now at least sees Andy pair up with his brother Jamie to take on Steve Darcis and Kimmer Coppejans. While the World No 2 downplayed the importance of the doubles rubber, win that one, and his reverse singles meeting with David Goffin on Sunday, and Britain will have their first win in this competition for 79 years - with all the decisive points yet again delivered by Scots. Belgium's best hopes rest on prolonging matters into a fifth rubber, a scenario in which Steve Darcis has prevailed on four separate occasions.

While Edmund appeared mentally and physically exhausted at the end of his match with Goffin, Smith said he would delay any decisions on whether he or James Ward would play on Sunday. "Obviously on paper it [1-1] is what people would have expected," said Smith. "I thought Andy was, yet again, very, very good in handling the environment, the crowd, and an opponent who clearly has nothing to lose that was swinging away. We won't do anything until Saturday night, when we see how everyone is, see how the doubles has gone. There's no need to rush into anything."

David Goffin insisted he was more motivated than ever after coming past Edmund, but the World No 2's belief that Britain will prevail remains strong. "Well, you know, I believe in myself," said Andy. "I believe in me and Jamie as a doubles team, as well. But it's obviously going to be tough. I mean, Goffin's a top-quality player when he plays well. He's ranked 16 in the world, plays well on the clay. I'm aware that will be a very tough match to win. In the doubles, Davis Cup is always tough, never easy, just because of the way doubles is played. If we lost the doubles, we could win two singles on Sunday. I believe we can win the tie, obviously, otherwise there would be no point in us being here."

Edmund said he hoped that keeping Goffin out on court for five sets would be a factor, and refused to rule out playing the decisive rubber on Sunday. "Physically I'll be a lot better because it gives me a couple of days to get ready," he said. "We'll do everything we can to recover. I'll be ready to go. At the moment I'm picked to play. If Leon changes it, we'll discuss it, no doubt."