Jack Draper could not inspire Great Britain to a Davis Cup comeback win over Argentina as his first match since reaching the US Open semi-finals ended in defeat.

The British number one was given an electrifying ovation in Manchester but the mood flattened as he went on to lose 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 against Francisco Cerundolo.

Draper’s defeat means the host nation could not beat Argentina in the best-of-three tie and missed the chance to reach the Davis Cup Finals knockout stage at the earliest opportunity.

British team-mate Dan Evans was beaten 6-2 7-5 by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first singles match earlier on Friday.

Evans later teamed up with Neal Skupski to claim a consolation 6-3 7-5 win in the doubles against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, leaving Argentina as 2-1 winners overall in the tie.

Leon Smith’s squad, who beat Finland on Wednesday, would have progressed with two wins from their opening two ties.

Instead, they are likely to need to beat Canada on Sunday in what could be a nerve-shredding contest.

Britain’s defeat means Group D has been blown wide open and, with Argentina playing Finland on Saturday, any of the four nations could still finish in the top two.

Only two teams from the Manchester group will progress to the ‘Final Eight’ event which takes place between 19-24 November in Malaga.

Author: Mujuni Henry

JUNIITV

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