Great Britain suffered Billie Jean King Cup heartbreak as Slovakia fought back to claim a 2-1 victory in the semi-finals in Malaga.
Britain looked to be heading for their first final in the competition since 1981 when Emma Raducanu defeated Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4 6-4 and Katie Boulter won the opening set against Rebecca Sramkova.
Neither had dropped a set all week until that point but Boulter could not maintain her advantage and Sramkova fought back to claim a 2-6 6-4 6-4 victory and send the tie to a deciding doubles.
Called into action for the first time all week, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls were caught cold by Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova and fell to a one-sided 6-2 6-2 defeat.
It is therefore Slovakia who will take on Italy on Wednesday for the title, while Britain must reflect on a disappointing end to what has nevertheless been a positive campaign.
In particular, the performances of Raducanu, who was a doubt for the event after suffering a foot injury two months ago, show that Britain can hope to challenge for the title again in the near future.
The 22-year-old was not at her best in a nervy encounter against Hruncakova, ranked a lowly 238, but was again able to hang tough when it mattered.
After saving three break points in her first service game, Raducanu raced into a 5-1 lead only to become a little passive and allow the big-striking Hruncakova to claw back three games.
The 2021 US Open champion served it out at the second time of asking, and the second set was a similar story, with Raducanu establishing a dominant lead, wobbling, but eventually finding a way through.
“Every match is truly challenging,” Raducanu said. “As the tournament progresses, it’s more and more. Today was a really tough battle.
“My opponent had huge ball striking. I’m really pleased with how I once again composed myself and served it out in both sets.”
That set the stage for Boulter to try to clinch victory without the need for a deciding doubles, as she had in confident fashion against both Germany and Canada.
She is ranked 19 places higher than Sramkova at 24 in the world but the Slovakian, who is almost blind in one eye, has enjoyed a breakthrough year and beat Boulter in their only previous encounter on clay in the spring.
This court certainly suits Boulter’s game much more and she controlled the first set very well to put her team within touching distance of the final.
But her groundstrokes became wayward at times early in the second set and Sramkova, who beat 11th-ranked Danielle Collins in Slovakia’s upset of the USA last week, opened up a 4-1 lead.
The British number one did not panic, steadying herself and winning three games in a row, but the nerves were evident as she served at 4-5 and Sramkova sent the contest to a third set.
The momentum was now with the Slovakian, who had really found her range, and she took an early lead in the decider only for Boulter to again peg her back.
It felt like the British player was hanging on, though, and her resistance ended when she served to try to stay in the contest, Boulter missing a backhand to keep the match alive for Slovakia.
Nicholls has had a breakthrough year on the WTA Tour playing with Mihalikova while Watson is also an experienced doubles player but the pair, who captain Anne Keothavong credited for providing much of the off-court fun, just could not get into the contest.
With the crowd diminished by Rafael Nadal’s farewell next door, Watson and Nicholls quickly fell 4-0 behind and a comeback never looked on the cards.
