GREAT BRITAIN LEAD ECUADOR 2-0 IN DAVIS CUP QUALIFIER

Great Britain took a 2-0 lead over Ecuador on the opening day of their Davis Cup qualifying tie at the Copper Box Arena in London. Arthur Fery, fresh from his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals last summer, beat Álvaro Guillén Meza, with the scoreline given as 7-5, 6-0 by one report. Toby Samuel, called up as a late replacement for Cameron Norrie, opened the tie with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Ecuador's Andrés Andrade. Fery said the crowd made "a lot of noise" and that playing Davis Cup carries "more responsibility" because players represent the whole nation.

Norrie's late withdrawal meant Great Britain fielded a singles pairing largely new to the competition, with Fery's win in Poland the previous September the only Davis Cup singles match either he or Samuel had played before this tie. Despite that lack of experience, the British pair were strongly favoured against an Ecuador team with no player ranked inside the world's top 200, playing in conditions considered to favour the home side. Ecuador had already shown their qualifying pedigree by beating Australia 3-1 in Quito in February. Great Britain's doubles pairing of Henry Patten, ranked world number one, and Neal Skupski, the reigning US Open doubles champion, are set to play on the following day.

A win in the doubles would secure the tie for Great Britain, who need just one more victory to reach the Davis Cup Final 8. That knockout stage of the competition is scheduled to take place in Bologna between 18 and 23 November. Up to three further matches remain possible if the tie is not decided in the doubles rubber.