Arthur Fery enjoyed a dream Davis Cup debut as he helped Great Britain to take control of their tie against Poland.
The 23-year-old was a late addition to the line-up after Jacob Fearnley pulled out just hours before the tie with a rib injury.
But Fery, ranked 227, showed no signs of nerves as he beat Olaf Pieczkowski 6-4 6-2 in Gdynia.
Cameron Norrie had earlier beaten Tomasz Berkieta in straight sets, meaning Leon Smith’s side – missing Jack Draper through injury – moved 2-0 up in the best-of-five tie.
Fery was thrown in at short notice, but it helped that he was coming up against the world number 484.
However, Fery said: “Nothing’s easy. Playing away in the Davis Cup, it’s tricky.
“I mean, rankings don’t really mean anything. And it was a big fight today. I think the match was tougher than the score shows. So, I’m really happy with my first match.”
Norrie delivered the first point by winning the opening rubber in straight sets.
It was a mismatch in terms of ranking as Norrie, ranked 34, took on world number 545 Berkieta.
There was no such gulf in the scoreline though and Norrie only got over the line in the first set by edging a dramatic tiebreak, having saved set points.
He was in much more control in the second set and got the job done 7-6 (9) 6-4.
“It’s nice to be back playing for my country,” Norrie said during his on-court interview. “It’s my first time here. Tomasz is a young up-and-coming player, he’s very talented, got a big serve and hits the ball very well off both sides.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, not much rhythm – he played really well today and challenged me.”
Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash, the number one doubles pairing, are in action on Saturday, followed by the reverse singles rubbers.
If Great Britain can get over the line they will go into February’s first round, with a chance to win the 2026 tournament.
