Davis Cup results
Here are the latest results from Great Britain vs Ecuador at the Davis Cup:
Gonzalo Escobar (ECU) & Diego Hidalgo (ECU)
Day two: Great Britain one win away from Final 8
Heading into day two, the Lexus Great Britain Davis Cup team are just one win away from securing a place in the Davis Cup Final 8.
Day one wins from debutant Toby Samuel and Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery have given the Brits a 2-0 lead over Ecuador, with the host nation needing just one win from the remaining three rubbers to secure the victory.
Up first will be Grand Slam doubles champions Henry Patten and Neal Skupski who will join forces for the doubles rubber against Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
From there, it’ll be over to Fery and Samuel to play their reverse singles matches from yesteday.
Match two: Fery closes out day one with a win
British No.1 Fery produced a sensational performance against Guillen Meza, battling through a tense opening set before powering to a 7-5, 6-0 victory in an hour and 30 minutes.
“It feels unbelievable”, Fery beamed in his on-court interview. “To play in front of everyone here in London in only my second Davis Cup tie – we’re used to travelling alone all year, so to be here as part of a team and in front of you guys is unbelievable.”
Today’s contest not only marked Fery’s first match back on British soil since his run to the Wimbledon semi-final, but also just his second match for the Lexus GB team.
There was little to separate the Brit and the Ecuadorian through the opening exchanges and despite Fery earning three break points, he couldn’t find a way past the world No.293.
However, the Brit’s patience soon paid off at 6-5 when an impressive return game earned the 24-year-old a fourth break point which he grabbed with both hands – drawing the error off the Ecuadorian’s backhand to clinch the set and bring the home crowd to its feet.
Like compatriot Samuel in the previous rubber, once Fery had the opening set in hand there was simply no stopping him.
The world No.36 dropped just six points behind serve in the second set and won 11 of 14 points on return as he reeled off six consecutive games – sealing victory when Guillen Meza struck his third double fault of the match.
Match one: Samuel secures dream debut
World No.95 Samuel came through a testing match against the Ecuador No.1 to seal a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win in an hour and 46 minutes.
“This is a big dream of mine”, Samuel reflected after his win. “You could sort of tell because I was quite nervous at the start but I got myself going and got the job done for Great Britain.”
Stepping onto court for the first time at the Davis Cup, there were naturally some early nerves for the British debutant and his opponent took full advantage – storming into a 4-0 lead inside 15 minutes.
A double fault from the world No.203 helped Samuel recover one of the breaks, but he couldn’t find a second as Andrade sealed the opener when the Brit steered a backhand volley into the net.
Roared on by the home crowd, Samuel responded well in the second. After holding comfortably, he converted one of two break points to edge ahead for the first time in the match.
Although Andrade fought back to level terms, the 24-year-old struck at the ideal moment. A pinpoint forehand that dropped inside the baseline earned Samuel a set point at 5-4 before another costly double fault from the Ecuadorian sent the match into a decider.
From there, the momentum swung firmly with the British No.4. Back-to-back breaks to love catapulted him into a 5-1 lead and set him up with the chance to serve for victory on home soil.
After recovering from 0-40 down, the Briton fired a first serve down the T that Andrade could only send wide to complete a winning Davis Cup debut on his second match point.