Great Britain has seized a strong 2-0 advantage over Ecuador in their Davis Cup qualifier at the Copper Box Arena. British No 1 Arthur Fery, a Wimbledon semi-finalist, secured a dominant 7-5, 6-0 victory against Álvaro Guillén Meza in his first home competition since his successful summer.
Fery's win followed a solid debut performance from British No 5 Toby Samuel, who stepped in as a late injury replacement for Cameron Norrie. Samuel overcame a nervous start to defeat Ecuador's No 1, Andrés Andrade, with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
This successful opening day means Britain is now just one win away from advancing to the Davis Cup Final 8, the knockout stage of the competition, which is scheduled to take place in Bologna from November 18 to 23.
Samuel, who was ranked outside the top 1600 last February, has seen a rapid ascent in the tennis world, breaking into the top 100 this week at No 95. His impressive year includes winning nine titles, five of which were ATP Challenger titles, leading to his first Davis Cup call-up.