Why the Davis Cup final is a big deal for tennis fans and a young lad from East Yorkshire

The Davis Cup doesn't have the same exposure as other international sporting tournaments, but in terms of achievement for British tennis, it is a massive deal.

Previous winners include Switzerland, in a team headed by Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, and Spain, featuring Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, with Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki leading his Serbian squad to glory in 2010.

Over the past five years, Britain, fronted by world number two Andy Murray, has clawed its way from the international tennis wilderness into the World Group stage and has this year seen off the USA, France and Australia to seal a place in the final, which kicks off in Belgium at lunchtime today.

The format is simple: each team fields four players to compete in five matches over the weekend. There are two singles play-offs on the Friday and Sunday and a doubles tie on the Saturday.

The last time Britain reached a Davis Cup final was 1978 when Britain lost to the USA and saw our John Lloyd facing a teenage John McEnroe.

Fred Perry, left, was in the last British team to win the Davis Cup in 1936. Andy Murray, above, is hoping to repeat that success for the first time in 79 years with a win this weekend in Belgium

And you have to rewind to 1936 and the time of Fred Perry to recall when Great Britain last won the competition.

That's a long 79 years of hurt.

Heightened security following the attacks in Paris and lockdown in Brussels cast a shadow over the final, which is taking place at the Flanders Expo in Ghent, just 35 miles from the Belgian capital. But the British squad were determined to go ahead and the Lawn Tennis Association hired two private planes to fly the team straight to Flanders airport, bypassing Brussels. Andy Murray spoke admirably about his determination not to be cowed by acts of terrorism.

He said: “I think everybody right now is concerned about things. But I do think the best thing that we can do is to live our normal lives, not change too much, because then the terrorists are the ones that are winning."

Bravo.

Despite winning the Olympic Gold Medal and Wimbledon, Murray remains a bit of a Marmite character among Brits - many people never forgave him for a quip he made once about national football allegiances. His late declaration for Scottish independence probably alienated some English fans further.

And yet, when Murray steps out this weekend in an effort to write his way into even more record books, no one will be able to question his patriotism or his passion.

He is a British player and he is playing for his country. He has dedicated himself to trying to win the Davis Cup for the nation. They say a one-man team can't win the Davis Cup, but Murray is poised to prove them wrong.

Given he is the strongest player in the squad - and seeded well above his rivals in the Belgian side - he is expected to win both his singles rubbers. But you need to win three matches to clinch victory. It can mean the doubles tie is the real decider in the fixture.

In the previous two rounds, Murray stepped up to play this crucial match - partnering his brother Jamie, a doubles expert. Together, they won them both. Had they not, Andy's efforts would have counted for nothing.

And if more drama were needed, this weekend sees Yorkshire's young tennis star Kyle Edmund making his Davis Cup debut. Edmund, 20, from Beverley, won his place in the squad after a great performance two weeks ago, where he won a tour title on clay (the surface they will be playing on in Ghent).

He is scheduled to play the first match today against Belgium's top player David Goffin. One can only imagine what Edmund will feel like when he steps out in his national colours. As the lowest ranked singles player in both squads, he is not expected to win. If he does, he will have played his part in bringing the Davis Cup back to Britain - and become an overnight hero.

We wish him - and the rest of the team - the very best of British.