GREAT Britain was able to rest two of its top stars and still get the job done against Finland on day two of the 2024 Davis Cup overnight. The passionate Manchester crowd got behind veteran Daniel Evans playing his 26th match in the blue, white and red, equalling the second most all-time record with Mike Sangster and only behind Bobby Wilson.

Evans won 7-6 6-2 against Eero Vasa, having to overcome a spirited fight from the lowly 703rd ranked Finn, before taking control in the second set and running away with the contest. The now-ranked 178th Evans got his chance when Great Britain opted to rest Top 20 player Jack Draper, and Cameron Norrie withdrew from the tournament leaving the job up to Evans and 101st ranked Billy Harris.

Finland was also depleted for the tie, with top-ranked talent and only Top 100 representative Emil Ruusuvuori unavailable, forcing Vasa to step into the second singles spot, and perennial second singles player Otto Virtanen become the number one.

Finland enjoyed a shock run to the semi-finals last year with wins over Croatia, the United States and Canada before going down to Australia in the final four. Now without Ruusuvuori – who had a 4-2 record in singles last year – Finland understandably struggled, and after Evans won 7-6 6-2, Virtanen also went down to Davis Cup debutant Harris, 6-4 7-6.

In Evans’ win, the Brit played his usual consistent game, only hitting 20 unforced errors to Vasa’s 47 as the Finn really went for his chances. Both players hit 17 winners, but Evans – who weathered six aces off the opponent’s racquet – won 92 and 52 per cent of his first and second serve points compared to Vasa’s 65 and 40 per cent respectively.

“He was playing so freely in the first set and I did well to weather the storm and find a way to win. That’s what you have to do in the Davis Cup,” Evans said post-match.

“I’ve enjoyed every Davis Cup tie I’ve played in. The early days were fun when we weren’t very good. We got some big wins and there were so many more after that.

“My early memories were with Tim (Henman) and Greg (Rusedski) and they played with such pride and passion for their country. That really made me think. These guys are top 10 in the world and the Davis Cup means so much to them. So for the younger players in the team, I always told them how important this is. That’s part of my job now.”

Evans’ hard-fought win over Virtanen – who also sported a 4-2 record at last year’s Davis Cup – was crucial in locking away the tie, with the Brit hitting the same amount of winners (11) but eight less unforced errors (31-39), all while winning 82 per cent of his first serve points off a 77 per cent clip. He broke twice compared to Virtanen’s once in the nail-biting 6-4 7-6 victory.

“You are not just playing for yourself, you are playing for your team and country, so I can’t deny I was getting nervous,” Harris said. “Making my debut for Great Britain in the Davis Cup, this probably caps it all for me in my career so far.”

Though Britain had secured the win, doubles pairing Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen managed to get one back for the visitors, winning 7-6 7-5 over Evans and Neal Skupski. Finland captain Jarkko said it was “important” to get the doubles win.

“We are now in the same position we were in Split last year losing the first match 2-1 and we managed to get through. It will be tough against Canada, but we are ready for the fight.”

AROUND THE WORLD

The United States made light work of Chile, storming to a 3-0 whitewash over in China though all three matches went to a deciding third set tiebreaker. Stepping in for the number two singles spot, Reilly Opelka got the nation off to the perfect start by winning in three nail-biting sets over Cristian Garin 6-3 4-6 7-6, while the in-form Brandon Nakashima took down Top 30 player Alejandro Tabilo. Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek capped off the day with an equally challenging win over Tomas Barrios Vera and Matias Soto.

An injury retirement to Tomas Machac marred an otherwise entertaining clash between Czech Republic and Spain despite the Valencia hosts getting up 3-0. World number three Carlos Alcaraz levelled the match against a hampered Machac 6-1 after the Czech surprised everyone winning the first set in a tiebreaker. He was forced to retire and hand the tie to Spain, with Roberto Bautista Agut winning against Jiri Lehecka in the earlier match, 7-6 6-4. Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then teamed up to get up in the doubles.

Italy made it three from three for the host nations, with a 2-1 victory over Brazil in Bologna. Matteo Berrettini was at his brutal best against South American young gun Joao Fonseca to win 6-1 7-6, before Matteo Arnaldi out-foxed Thiago Monteiro in three tight sets, 7-5 6-7 7-6. Brazil kept its hopes of advancing alive after Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo ground out a 6-7 7-6 7-5 win over Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the doubles.