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| AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert |
Such was the high emotion inside the Flanders Expo on the opening day of the tie that Andy Murray received a penalty-point for swearing during his singles match, while the Belgian team was warned that their supporters were in danger of breaking the 'partisan crowd rule' for calling out, possibly even hissing, between first and second serves.
It is unlikely to be any quieter on Saturday as the Murrays contest a rubber that will probably determine which of these nations ends up being presented with the oversized salad bowl on Sunday.
Should the brothers defeat their Belgian opponents -- and there is a possibility that the home team will tinker with their original selections of Steve Darcis and Kimmer Coppejans -- Andy Murray would then go into the first of Sunday's reverse singles matches, against David Goffin, with the opportunity to propel Britain to a first victory in this competition since 1936.
Victory for the Belgian team would give them two attempts on Sunday at scoring this trophy for the first time.
So the challenge, disclosed the older of the Murray brothers, is to control his emotions, and not to start thinking that they need to win every point. Forcing the points would only be counter-productive; far better to try to stay composed.
"You know that there are going to be so many people there supporting you, screaming for you, and cheering for you. After every point at Davis Cup ties, it's so loud it's a joke, and so every point starts to mean something," said Jamie Murray, who won the doubles rubber with his brother at the last two ties, including a five-setter against Australia's Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth in the semifinal that fried everyone's nerves.
"In tennis, some points are more important than others, depending on the score. It's hard to maintain that when people are screaming and shouting after every point, regardless of the situation. For me, that's been the most difficult thing about playing in the Davis Cup.
"It's the mental challenge of trying not to get too caught up in the whole fervour of it. It's about trying to stay in the process of what you're trying to do. And trying not to get too excited or to try too hard to win every single point as obviously you won't do that. Just play point by point and leave it at that."
This year has been filled with new experiences for Jamie Murray, who played in his first two men's doubles Grand Slam finals with Australia's John Peers, at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, as well as qualifying for the year-end World Tour Finals in London.
What will help him on Saturday, though, is how he dealt with the challenges of the other ties this year, and in particular that match against Australia. It was in the moments after that victory that Andy observed that they had "stuck together, as brothers should".
"That experience of playing in those previous rounds, that's going to be more of a benefit than having played in two Grand Slam finals this year. That's because the Davis Cup tie brings such a different atmosphere," Jamie said.
"This final is different because it's away from home. We've had such great support in our matches this year, and it won't be the same in terms of numbers in the crowd for us. I think you have more togetherness when you're playing an away tie because you feel as though it's the team against the country, whereas at home you've got everyone there with you. So it's just a different atmosphere and different mentality."
Winning this tie, Jamie said, "would be huge". "At first, I don't think I quite grasped how big an achievement it was to get to the final. And how far-reaching it is. The guys on the tour have congratulated me more for what I have been doing in the Davis Cup than for reaching Grand Slam finals or anything else I've done on the tour," he said.
"Britain hasn't won it for so many years, and we're going to be doing everything we can to make it happen because what an achievement that would be, and that's something you would have for life."
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