Great Britain will have to fight back to reach the Davis Cup Final last eight at the earliest opportunity after Dan Evans lost their opening match against Argentina.
In a best-of-three tie, Evans was beaten 6-2 7-5 by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Manchester.
US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper, who has returned to the team after being rested for Wednesday’s win over Finland, plays Francisco Cerundolo in the second singles match.
If Draper wins, the tie will go down to a deciding doubles match.
Britain know they will progress to the quarter-finals – played in November at the ‘Final Eight’ event in Malaga – if they beat Argentina on the Manchester Arena hard court.
Canada would also go through after the 2022 Davis Cup champions beat Argentina and Finland in their opening two ties.
If Britain lose to Argentina, the group is blown wide open and any of the four nations could still finish in the top two.
Draper takes centre stage after Evans loss
Back on home turf following his exploits in New York, Draper has been the centre of attention in Manchester – even without playing.
Now, after being the talk of the town and receiving ovations when he has been introduced to the crowd before the ties, the 22-year-old British number one has the chance to make an important impact on the court.
Draper must beat Cerundolo, a clay-court specialist who is ranked 31st in the world, to keep Britain’s hopes of clinching their spot on Friday with two victories from two alive.
Evans, 34, is the most experienced player in a British squad which has a fresh look following the retirement of Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie’s absence with an arm injury.
On the day where he surpassed Mike Sangster to go second in the British all-time list of Davis Cup ties played, Evans was left to rue not being able to convert his early chances against Etcheverry.
A gruelling fourth game, where Evans continued to patiently probe with the backhand slice, saw Etcheverry desperately hanging on as Evans created four break points.
Surviving all of them proved pivotal in the match.
Sensing a freedom to attack in the fifth game, Etcheverry quickly broke to take the wind out of Evans’ sails and rattled off the final three games for the opening set.
It has been a tough year for Evans, who has dropped out of the world’s 150, and his confidence dipped dramatically.
Little gets the best out of Evans like the Davis Cup, however, and he showed trademark tenacity to reset in the second set.
Rediscovering his serve helped as the pair traded holds, but the frustration and fragility reappeared as he crucially lost serve in the 11th game.
More resistance came as Evans fought off five match points – and created three break points – before a relieved Etcheverry eventually served out victory.
