The brilliance of 21-year-old Edmund in the Davis Cup quarter-final win over Serbia ensured Great Britain’s place in the last-four, while 26-year-old Evans won the decisive fifth rubber against Russian Federation to earn GB a place in the World Group play-offs back in 2013.
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Kyle Edmund won both of his matches in Belgrade, and with the 21-year-old’s ranking now at 55, while Evans is at a career-high 53, Smith is less reliant on the combination of Murray and a strong doubles team.
The visitors’ best player, who was exhausted after beating Andy Murray in five hours and seven minutes on day one and losing against him and his brother Jamie in almost three hours in the doubles on day two, surprised everyone by declining to play the match that broke the 2-2 deadlock on Sunday afternoon.
In the first match Juan Martin Del Potro, ranked 64, shocked world No.2 Murray in a five setter.
That meant the tie came down to a clash between Evans and Leonardo Mayer, and it was the Argentinian who rose to the challenge with a terrific display of serving to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. News stories displayed here appear in our category for Sports and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.
Evans put up one more epic fight, battling long and hard in the first game of the fourth set, saving three break points but it was just a single break mid way through the fourth set that did for him, in an otherwise far more competitive set. Perhaps they could even get by the likes of Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Borna Coric.
Murray, the world number two, will remain the lynchpin for any immediate hopes of another Davis Cup success, but more immediately he requires a break.
“It’s a very special moment for the whole team”. What could be read into Del Potro’s short and snappy warm-up on the match court before play began for the day?
The Birmingham player, who lost 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 4-6, said: “It’s pretty raw right now, for everyone”.
Argentina will now be travelling to Croatia in November to play the Davis Cup final and will be hoping that they get lucky this time around.
In addition to the left-handed Pella, however, Argentine captain Daniel Orsanic also had other options.
It all came down to a fifth and deciding rubber, and in the end another of Davis Cup’s litany of unlikely heroes rose to the challenge.
Argentina is through to its fifth Davis Cup final when it will be looking to win the top team prize in tennis for the first time.
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“I expected to feel exhausted and I knew I was going to be in some pain”, he said. I have to go and see what’s up and get some treatment.
