Great Britain face a relegation play-off in the Davis Cup after a makeshift team were beaten 3-2 by Japan.
Debutant Jacob Fearnley’s impressive singles win on Friday had given Leon Smith’s side hope of victory despite being without grand slam semi-finalists Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie.
Those hopes were heightened when experienced doubles pair Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury won Saturday’s opening rubber 7-6 (4) 7-6 (3) against Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki.
Great Britain clinch a thriller 🇬🇧
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 1, 2025
Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski twice prevail in a tie break to win 6-7,6-7 and move 2-1 ahead of Japan in the tie. #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/TsnVqogKNU
But neither Fearnley nor Billy Harris could pick up the one singles victory Britain needed to reach the second round of qualifiers.
Fearnley, the fast-rising 23-year-old playing in his first Davis Cup tie, was beaten 6-3 7-6 (0) by Yoshihito Nishioka, who sits 10 places above the Scot in the world rankings at 67.
That set up a deciding match between world number 129 Billy Harris and former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, who eased to a 6-2 6-3 victory at the Bourbon Beans Dome in Miki.
Britain will now need to win a tie in September to keep their place in the top tier next season.