Dan Evans delivers on doubles debut with Neal Skupski in Colombia before Cameron Norrie seals Great Britain’s place in the Davis Cup Finals
- Dan Evans won the crucial doubles rubber alongside Neal Skupski in Bogota
- Evans had previously criticised captain Leon Smith’s doubles selections in 2022
- Cameron Norrie earned his second win of the tie to complete a 3-1 victory
Dan Evans happily accepted the offer to put his money where his mouth is by helping Britain through to the play-offs for this year’s Davis Cup finals.
Given the task of taking the pivotal doubles point against Colombia on Saturday night Evans, rarely shy about expressing his opinion about the two-man code, brought it home alongside Neal Skupski.
Cam Norrie then won his second singles rubber of the tie to seal a 3-1 victory, meaning that Leon Smith’s team will feature in September’s four-team group stage, with two making the finals week.
It was Smith whose selections Evans criticised when the pairing of Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury lost two deciding rubbers last year, stopping their campaign of 2022.
Now the world singles No 30 was given the chance to back up his insinuation that he should have played instead. He was put together with Skupski to face the top class Colombian duo of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal in these highly unusual conditions, given Bogota’s altitude of 2500 metres and the depressurised balls being used.
Dan Evans, right, earned a straight sets victory in the crucial doubles rubber with Neal Skupski
Cameron Norrie won his second singles match to take Britain into the Davis Cup Finals
The two of them responded perfectly, not offering up a single break point as they won 6-4 6-4 before a partisan crowd of more than 4,000 packed around the clay court at the Pueblo Viejo Country Club.
‘My game style is pretty good for doubles, Neal is world number one and he talked me through the match,’ said Evans.
It helped that the two of them had a period as partners in 2021, when they were good enough to reach the final of both the Miami Open and Monte Carlo Open Masters level events on the ATP Tour.
Both of them were under pressure to deliver against a seasoned pairing, Evans in particular given his previous comments and his defeat in the opening singles on Friday.
This tie was an awkward mission that had involved a 30-hour journey from the contrasting environment of the Australian Open, and they would not have been the first team to have arrived superior on paper before coming to grief.
Norrie ensured the overall victory when he stepped out to face Colombia’s Nicholas Meija, ranked 240 places below him. It was never easy against a player so at ease in these conditions, but the GB No 1 eventually displayed his superior class to come through 6-4 6-4 to spark scenes of celebration among the team and their enormous support staff.