Evans defeat makes win unlikely
Great Britain's hopes of a shock Davis Cup victory over Belgium are almost over after Dan Evans went down 3-6 6-4 7-6 (9/7) 6-4 to Olivier Rochus to leave the hosts trailing 2-0 at the end of the first day's play at Glasgow's Braehead Arena.
At 344 in the world, Evans is ranked almost 300 places behind number 59 Rochus, but the 21-year-old from Birmingham pushed his experienced opponent all the way and may well have won had he taken the closest of third set tie-breaks.
Josh Goodall's 6-7 (2/7) 6-3 6-4 6-4 defeat by Steve Darcis earlier had set the stage for Evans again to be the hero, but Rochus proved more than a match.
Evans, though, came back from 40-0 to break Rochus in the opening game and then repeating the feat to win the first set with a stunning forehand down the line.
The Belgian showed his quality at the start of the second, reeling off four games in a row after Evans missed a chance to break, and although the home favourite pulled one back straight away he could not retrieve the second.
A crunch backhand volley saved a rare break point in the fifth game, and when he was finally broken at the fourth attempt to leave Rochus serving for a two sets to one lead, he promptly broke straight back to love.
In truth that was more to do with some tight play from the Belgian, but he eventually prevailed in the most tense of tie-breaks. There was never more than a point between them but Evans could not take advantage of two set points, and Rochus took his first after a linesman seemed to change his mind in calling an Evans forehand wide.
It was desperately close, but Evans put the disappointment behind him in the best possible way by breaking in the opening game of the fourth set.
A poor volley and netted drop shot cost Evans and gave Rochus the break back for 4-4, two games after he had hit two aces to deny the Belgian. Evans was now on the brink and he quickly found himself facing two match points at 4-5, and a cramping Rochus took the first when his opponent missed a forehand.
Ross Hutchins and Colin Fleming must now win the doubles rubber on Saturday to give Britain hope of coming back to win the tie, something they have only done once before from 2-0, and that was in 1930 against Germany.
