Andy Murray hands Great Britain advantage after beating Donald Young in Davis Cup singles rubber

Andy Murray gave Great Britain the perfect start in their Davis Cup first-round tie against the United States by recording a largely comfortable victory over Donald Young in front of an adoring crowd at the atmospheric Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

The British number one was back playing in his native Scotland for the first time in four years and treated his compatriots to a display of superiority as he dispatched of the inconsistent Young 6-1, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

The early signs were ominous for the American, ranked 47<sup>th, who was barely competitive against a clearly determined Murray and managed to win only a measly eight points during an extremely one-sided first set.

While Young was notably below par, Murray was flying and exercised his obvious dominance by taking the second set in equally impressive fashion after his opponent's already fragile confidence was shattered after double-faulting at 0-40 down in his first service game.

A telling stat of the opening two sets was Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open earlier in 2015, committed just one unforced error in contrast to 10 from Young.

Thankfully for the paying public, Young produced a far more spirited effort in the third set and managed to slow the frequency with which Murray had been breaking his serve.

Unlikely comeback was on the cards

He might have been forgiven for throwing away the chance to claw a set back after conceding the first two in a time of just 47 minutes, but instead impressively held his nerve to silence the raucous home support and offer the slenderest chance of the most unlikely comeback.

Murray broke early in the fourth to effectively curtail those hopes, though, and did so again shortly afterwards to set himself up for a 6-2 third-set win that was perhaps a little harsh on Young, whose response to such early humiliation was spirited and commendable.

"I was born here so to play in front of a packed arena in Glasgow is very special," Murray said after the win. "I'm glad I managed to play a good match and get the win. The emotions were running pretty high and I played an extremely high level in the first two sets and it was tough to keep that level up so I had a slight lull in the third set."

In the other singles rubber on 6 March, James Ward will pit his wits against the big-serving John Isner. The two players have never previously met in an ATP World Tour, Grand Slam or Davis Cup main draw event, yet Ward may just possess a slight psychological advantage after beating Isner in an exhibition match in Melbourne prior to the Australian Open in January.

Another victory for Ward over the world number 20 would see Leon Clarke's team take a 2-0 first-day lead over the US for the second consecutive year. Murray also beat Young in San Diego in 2014, while Ward played out a thrilling victory over Sam Querrey to hand Britain a vital advantage heading into the doubles on 7 March.