Dan Evans ensured Great Britain’s quest to reach the Davis Cup knockout stage started strongly with a hard-fought victory in their opening tie against Finland, as Jack Draper was rested.
Evans, 34, won 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 against 703rd-ranked Eero Vasa to put the host nation 1-0 ahead in the best-of-three Group D tie in Manchester on Wednesday.
With US Open semi-finalist Draper not included, the late-blooming Billy Harris was handed a Davis Cup debut in the second match of the tie, knowing he could secure victory for Britain.
British men’s number one Draper sat out this opening tie following his exploits in reaching the last four in New York last week.
Draper, 22, arrived in Manchester on Tuesday lunchtime and, after watching him practise, British captain Leon Smith decided he needed longer to recover.
Draper could return for the ties against Argentina and Canada later this week.
Britain are aiming to top Group D in the four-nation round robin and secure a place in the Davis Cup Finals last eight in Malaga later this year.
