• Lithuania v Great Britain, Davis Cup

Evans defeat pegs Britain back

Ricardas Berankis showed great fighting qualities to level the tie © Getty Images

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Davis Cup: Friday's action in pictures

Dan Evans suffered a 1-6 6-4 6-7 6-3 3-6 defeat to Ricardas Berankis to leave the Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Lithuania level at 1-1 after the first day's singles.

Jamie Ward gave Britain the ideal start with victory in the morning singles, but Lithuanian No. 1 Berankis battled hard to level the match.

Evans was overwhelmed in the first set, Berankis claiming six games in a row to take the first set 6-1.

Evans pulled himself together in the second set and an early break enabled him to level the match. The third set was a gritty affair which went to Berankis in a tie-break, but Evans showed tremendous fighting spirit to take the fourth.

The quality of the match deserved a fifth set and although Evans battled hard, he could not recover from the setback of an early break as Berankis, roared on by a partisan crowd, closed out the match with a mid-court drive volley.

Ward got Britain off to a flying start in Lithuania with a 6-4 6-2 6-4 win over Laurynas Grigelis.

Making his Davis Cup debut, the world No. 250 became the first Brit other than Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Andy Murray to win a live rubber in 14 years.

Ward got the all-important break in the first set, converting his fifth break-point opportunity to take a 5-4 lead and he served the set out, with the Lithuanian No. 2 saving five set points before Ward sealed the set.

Winning the opening set seemed to calm Ward's nerves, and the second and third sets were a little easier, and he sealed the match with an ace.

"It was a big win, obviously your first Davis Cup match is always a big win, and I'm glad I got through it," Ward said. "He'd played Davis Cup before, but I'm confident in my own ability, and I'm serving well, which on a fast court like this is tough to break at any time, so I'm very happy.

Britain are looking to avoid a fifth straight Davis Cup defeat that has seen them sink into Group II of the Europe and Africa Zone.

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