Juan Martin del Potro was due to play Argentina’s final match, but in a surprise move from captain Daniel Orsanic, it is Leonardo Mayer who will play the decider against Dan Evans.
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Argentina, who have been finalists four times in the past 10 years, will attempt to win their first Davis Cup when they travel to Croatia from November 25-27.
That meant the tie came down to a clash between Dan Evans and Leonardo Mayer, and it was the Argentinian who prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Evans held on in a 12-minute opening service game to the fourth set, but Mayer broke for a 3-2 lead and coolly served out to love for his ninth consecutive Davis Cup singles victory.
Marin Cilic sent Croatia into the cup showdown with a 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory against Richard Gasquet that gave the hosts a 3-2 win over France.
For all the history that was made last November in Ghent, when Britain defeated Belgium to become Davis Cup champions for the first time since 1936, they are a stronger team now than they were during their 2015 title run.
“I have played so much tennis in the last few months, I need a break and I need it now”.
“I played incredible tennis”.
The team faced an uphill battle having trailed 2-0 from Friday after Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund lost their matches but a doubles win for Murray and brother Jamie had reignited hopes they could turn things around.
The hosts had got off to a hard start, with Andy Murray losing in five colossal sets and over five hours to the resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro.
“It’s not a nice feeling”.
ANDY Murray has revealed he went off-court for treatment during his crucial Davis Cup tie because he couldn’t get his “nuts” out on it.
He had nothing but praise for Evans, saying: ” It’s a tennis match and all we ask before the players walk out is to give your best effort. “It’s pretty raw right now, for everyone, but you do feel like you’re the one that lost the match for those guys, salt on the wound”.
“I’ve never really had any muscle injuries before”, Murray told BBC Sport.
There was intrigue well before the first ball was struck on Sunday, with rumours circulating that Del Potro would not play in a potential deciding fifth match as he nurses his body back from serious injury. I’ve got to take a few days to think through what happened.
Evans is at a career-high ranking of 53, so could have been considered the favourite on paper, but Mayer was as high as 21 last season before injury problems and had won his last seven Davis Cup singles matches.
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With that potential Davis Cup re-vamp and the absence of Olympic challenges to be factored in, he may consider the potential rewards continue to be worth the risks for the next three years at least.
