GLASGOW, Scotland -- To describe Juan Martin del Potros Davis Cup victory over Andy Murray as an instant classic doesnt seem right. There was very little about this -- a match of five sets, five hours, and great, almost-operatic shifts in mood and momentum -- that could be thought of as instant.They were supposed to be reprising the Olympic final; instead, they only went and improved on it in the opening rubber of the semifinal between defending champions Great Britain and Argentina, by producing a match that was even longer on theatre, emotion and quality. More than anything, it was long on time -- Murray had never previously played a match lasting in excess of five hours.As a final twist, there was even a different ending.Understandably, Kyle Edmunds match against Guido Pella wasnt quite the humdinger as the one that had preceded it. And with the Yorkshireman losing in four sets, which left Britain trailing 0-2, the home team must win Saturdays doubles rubber if they are to have a chance of going through to Novembers final against France or Croatia. There was some doubt on Friday evening whether Murray will feature in the doubles alongside his brother Jamie, with the possibility that Dan Evans will deputise for him.So Del Potro, whose comeback year had already brought a victory over Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon, and wins over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in Rio de Janeiro, can now add Murray to that list. For Murray, this was that very rare event -- a defeat in the Davis Cup, with this his first in the competition since losing to Italys Fabio Fognini at the 2014 quarterfinal in Naples.Understandably, this was an emotional match for both of them, especially as it came on the day that Murrays paternal grandfather, Gordon Murray, was laid to rest, with the Wimbledon and Olympic champion missing the funeral. Some 7,000 miles distant from when Murray and Del Potro had played for a gold medal, and a month after that match in Rio de Janeiro, they simply carried on as they had left off. Then they turned the dial.With that Olympic final, they had walked on court with impossibly high expectations, but those were only exceeded with Del Potros 6-4, 5-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory in five hours and seven minutes, completed with an ace banged down the T.I did great today, said world No.2 Murray. Im very proud of how I fought, I did fantastic. I fought for every point, tried as best as I could. Thats all you can do.It was very fine margins. That happens in tennis and sport sometimes. It could have gone either way and he just played a little bit better in the fifth set.These two can do most things on a tennis court -- whats clearly beyond them is playing a quick match or anything less than extraordinary. Such was the effort that Del Potro put into the Olympic final, he said he felt dizzy and left the last of his toenails on the court, and the two of them put so much into this -- physically, mentally and emotionally -- that it was a wonder that both stayed intact. The Olympic final had been long -- at a couple of minutes over four hours -- but that was the abridged version next to this.How could Edmund and Pella, who were playing the second singles match of the day, stand a chance of topping that? After losing the opening set, Pella came back to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, in a match lasting just a touch over three hours.Anyone who suggests that South American crowds are the most excitable in the Davis Cup has plainly never experienced an afternoon at the tennis in Glasgow, amid the pipers and pandemonium, and with Murray orchestrating his public to make even more noise.On the opening afternoon, the galleries were fuelled -- in this order -- by a love for Murray, a desire to see Britains Davis Cup team prosper, and the pre-match mojitos and strawberry daiquiris they had been drinking outside in the sunshine. With an audience of 7,000, the Emirates Arena holds less than half the spectators inside Wimbledons Centre Court, but the crowd is three times as loud. If a health and safety inspector had dropped by, he would have immediately issued Murray and Del Potro with industrial ear-protectors.And, given the menace, the mph and the mayhem of Del Potros forehand, that inspector would doubtless also have urged Murray to put on some body-armour. For a man of such a gentle nature off the court, Del Potro could not be more violent on it, even after all the wrist operations that have vandalised his career, keeping him off the scene for years. From the very first game, he was taking giant swings with his forehand, really crushing the tennis ball. Thats not to say, though, that he was hitting streams of winners, as Murray was retrieving, defending and counter-attacking as only he can, and there were plenty of long and brutal rallies.On his first appearance in Scotland for 12 months, Murray was living dangerously against Del Potros forehand. So was Murrays racket, as at times it looked as though the Scot was thinking extremely hard about smashing it on the ground. The Argentine fans, gathered in the stand behind the umpires chair, made themselves heard with chants of Delpo, Delpo. But Murray dodged danger, and so did that frame.When Murray was serving at 4-4 in the second set, Del Potro was just a point away away from breaking, which would have left him serving for a two-set lead. But Murray held on, after saving that breakpoint with a volleyed winner, and he later broke Del Potro for the set after the Argentina put a backhand wide. That finish to the set wasnt without controversy, as the crowd had called out earlier in the point when they had believed one of Del Potros shots was going to miss the court, only for it to land inside the line. After hurling his racket to the floor, Del Potro immediately walked behind the umpires chair where he fetched the referee.But those Argentine protests didnt come to anything, apart from the umpire reminding the crowd to keep quiet during rallies.For a while, the crowd must have been thinking of Murray as Harry Houdini in shorts -- his talent as an escapologist was evident when Del Potro, serving at 5-4, had a point for the third set. Murrays response was to send the ball looping over the Tower of Tandil, to break serve and then snaffle the tiebreak. But Del Potro wasnt finished. Nor was the match. Far from it.Del Potro said: Im so tired. Ive got cramps everywhere. It was my longest match of my career and I won it against Andy playing here.Its very special for me and also the way of my tennis. It could be the revenge [for the Olympics]. But in that match I was exhausted before the final. We made a good choice with the captain to play Andy on the first day. Custom Jerseys From China . 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HOUSTON -- Oakland Athletics rookie right-hander Daniel Mengden, a Houston native drafted by his hometown franchise, will get an opportunity to show the Astros what theyre missing Friday at Minute Maid Park.Mengden (1-4, 3.48 ERA) will make his first career start against the organization that selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. Mengden was packaged along with catcher Jacob Nottingham in the deal that sent veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir to Houston on July 23, 2015.Selected from Triple-A Nashville on June 11, Mengden will make his sixth start of the career. His 31 strikeouts are tied for second in franchise history (since 1913) for the most by a pitcher over his first five appearances (Tim Hudson, 33 in 1999). Mengden, a product of nearby Texas A&M, began the season at Double-A Midland and finished 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA before his promotion to Nashville on May 1.With the Sounds, Mengden went 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA in seven starts. His ERA was the sixth-lowest in the minors at the time of his promotion.And while Mengden will get the first crack at helping Oakland (37-49) make it two in a row over the Astros following the Athletics 3-1 win on Friday night, the Oakland bullpen will also play a key role.Right-handers John Axford, Ryan Dull and Ryan Madson combined to work three perfect innings in the series opener, with Axford first relieving lefty Ken Hill and notching two strikeouts in the seventh inning. Axford had struggled of late, blowing two saves while posting an 18.00 ERA over his last six appearances.That was great to see, Athletics manaager Bob Melvin.dddddddddddd Weve seen now how effective he can be. Hes gone through a little bit of a tough stretch, obviously. I think looking at his history hes had some stretches through the course of the season where he hasnt been as effective and he works hard to get through it, but I think this was a big game for him to pitch in a close game like that, get a 1-2-3 inning. He looked good.Right-hander Collin McHugh (5-6, 4.50 ERA) will make his 18th start of the season for the Astros. He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings in his lone appearance against the Athletics this season but did not factor in the decision. McHugh is 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his career against the Athletics, a mark that includes six starts.While the Astros (46-40) will get an opportunity to improve to 12 games over .500 against right-handed starters, they fell to 11-16 against southpaw starters, a surprising record given the right-handed presence of George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in their lineup.We can certainly hit left-handed pitching, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Weve got guys who can do it. Weve got a few guys hitting under their career norms, and thats never good. Halfway through the season, I dont think we can declare that we cant hit lefties. I think weve got some left-handed pitchers we arent racing up to the batters box to face. But clearly, its been a touch of a struggle for us against that side. ' ' '