Even as they faced triple match point and the prospect of a crushing defeat in the decisive match of the entire week, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski refused to balk. They dug deep, inspired by the roars of the crowd after every point, and somehow they recovered to produce one of the greatest wins of their careers.
In the process, Great Britain pulled off a remarkable comeback deep in the decisive doubles rubber to defeat France 2-1 and advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals. After wins over Australia and Switzerland this week, the team finished unbeaten and top of their group.
Their success throughout has been defined by Evans’ passion and joy for Davis Cup tennis, with the world No 27 taking his excellent form into his singles matches while also pairing up with Skupski in doubles. The 33-year-old sealed Great Britain’s first point by recovering from a set down to defeat Arthur Fils 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 before Cameron Norrie was edged out 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5 by Ugo Humbert.
Evans returned for the decisive doubles alongside Skupski and, against Nicolas Mahut and Édouard Roger-Vasselin, they faced triple match point deep in the final set on Evans’ serve. Somehow they recovered to close out an astounding comeback with a 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) win. Great Britain will now advance to the Davis Cup “Final 8” knockout stage, which takes place between 21 and 26 November in Málaga.
“It was nuts,” said Evans. “Singles is singles and I feel comfortable on the court but the doubles? It was chaos. I just kept saying to Neal: ‘We’ve got a chance, we’ve got a chance.’ Neal kept going, we both kept going.”
After a week of criticism about the format of the competition, with the ties between neutral nations attracting few spectators, this was a rare glimpse of the Davis Cup at its finest: two high-quality teams battling before a massive, partisan crowd. The sold-out 13,000 attendance for Manchester’s first Davis Cup tie in 29 years is a record in Great Britain.
The tie began with Evans’s first recovery as he suffered under Fils’ enormous serve and vicious, heavy forehand, trailing 6-3, 3-1 before drawing on the atmosphere as he neutralised the 19-year-old and switched the momentum. Despite him being the highest ranked singles player in action, Norrie’s difficult recent form was reflected in the decisive moments as a nervous final service game proved the difference between him and Humbert, the British No 1’s night ending with a double fault on match point.
As the games fell away from Evans and Skupski early in the decisive final match, the prospect of a comeback already seemed difficult to fathom. But they battled hard for every point. Words were also exchanged between Evans and the opposition bench as pandemonium reigned.
At one point, Leon Smith, the team captain, jogged over to the courtside DJ to demand that he improve his musical output in order keep the crowd engaged over what proved to be seven hours and 38 minutes of play.
“We’re in Manchester, and we don’t hear Oasis once?” said Evans, smiling. “The DJ was trying to get the crowd up. He’s got decks in front of him but he’s using his arms not the music? Come on.”
In the final set, both teams took care of their service games well until Evans and Skupski struggled under the weight of scoreboard pressure, trailing 0-40 and triple match point. “There was no panic between us. We just went to the next point, one point at a time,” said Skupski.
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From 0-40 down, Evans served incredibly well as the pair rolled through five points in a row and escaped. In their next service game, Skupski faced a fourth match point before he similarly steeled himself and held his nerve. After nearly three hours on court, they closed out an astonishing comeback in a dramatic final set tiebreak.
“It was an amazing day, amazing feeling,” said Evans. “Emotional, more than anything. You want to be with these guys in the final. You know what happens if you lose. It’s not ideal at home as well, and you feel that. It’s an immensely proud moment for me and the team.”
