Great Britain on brink of defeat

Great Britain are one slip-up away from Davis Cup semi-final defeat after losing both of the day one singles matches against Argentina.

Andy Murray suffered a five-set loss to Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in an enthralling Glasgow opener and Guido Pella then defeated Kyle Edmund in four sets to put the seal on a fantastic first day for the visitors.

Reigning champions Great Britain will try to kick-start a comeback in Saturday afternoon’s doubles rubber, before the tie concludes with the reverse singles on Sunday.

British No 1 Murray contested the longest match of his career against the hard-hitting Del Potro, who he defeated in a similarly epic Olympic gold medal match last month.

Del Potro eventually prevailed 4-6 7-5 7-6 3-6 4-6 after five hours and seven minutes to claim one of his best wins since winning the 2009 US Open and confirm he is a major force once again, after a long battle with injury.

He quelled the atmosphere in Glasgow by taking the opening set against Murray and the Brit required a calming talk from team captain Leon Smith in the second, but eventually found a break in the final game to avoid a tie-break and draw level.

An exchange of three consecutive breaks in the third set indicated that both players were unable to gain …

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