James Ward and Dan Evans both lost in the reverse singles as Lithuania beat Great Britain 3-2 in the Davis Cup.
Grigelis seals famous win for hosts in Vilnius
James Ward and Dan Evans both lost in the reverse singles as Lithuania beat Great Britain 3-2 in Euro/Africa Group II of the Davis Cup.
After Ward's defeat by Ricardas Berankis, the result came down to the last singles rubber between Evans and Laurynas Grigelis - a player ranked 269 places below the Birmingham teenager at 521 in the world and who has never played a match on the ATP World Tour.
Evans recovered from a nightmare third set to force a decider but it was not enough as 18-year-old Grigelis triumphed 6-7 (6/8) 7-5 6-0 2-6 6-4.
Lithuania, with only three world-ranked singles players and a team made up entirely of teenagers, were ecstatic at the biggest result in their history.
British skipper John Lloyd, meanwhile, was left to contemplate humiliation and his future in the role after becoming the first GB captain to oversee five successive defeats.
Lloyd's men must now beat Turkey, who lost to Ireland, in a relegation play-off in July to avoid dropping to Europe/Africa Zone Group III - the lowest tier of the competition.
Ward crushed
Lithuania had come into the final day trailing 2-1 but Berankis' 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 6-4 triumph over Ward levelled up the match.
Serve remained dominant in the first set but it was Ward who cracked first in the tie-break, three errors in a row from 4-4 handing the set to his opponent.
The pressure was slowly building on the British number three and the first break of the match duly came in the eighth game of the second set.
Ward had two chances to break back immediately but he could not take them and Berankis, 19, served out for a two-set lead.
Both players had their openings in what proved to be the final set but again it was the Lithuanian who broke through, in the seventh game, and this time he had no trouble clinching victory.
That left the pressure firmly on Evans in the deciding rubber but he was unable to unduly trouble Grigelis - who Ward had beaten comfortably on Friday - in the first set.
The tie-break looked to be slipping away when the 18-year-old Lithuanian won four points in a row to lead 6-4 but a gutsy point from Evans allowed him to retrieve the mini-break and he held his nerve to serve out for a one-set lead.
The 19-year-old's Davis Cup record going into the match read: played three, lost three, and he had failed to win a set when called upon for the deciding rubber against Poland last year.
But, unlike British number two Alex Bogdanovic, Lloyd clearly believes Evans has the necessary character to succeed in Davis Cup.
Confident
Grigelis was not going away, though, and he claimed the first break of the match to move 6-5 ahead in the second set before confidently serving out a love game to make it one-set all.
Evans was suddenly on the back foot and two breaks at the start of the third set put Grigelis, whose aggressive tactics were paying off, firmly in control. That swiftly became three breaks and a love set.
The British number four responded, breaking three times in set four to level the match.
But this was the biggest match of Grigelis' life and he was determined not to let it slip away.
And some stunning shots from the Lithuanian gave him the first break of the decider in the fifth game.
The luckiest of net cords helped Evans save a first match point on his own serve at 3-5 and he looked set to take full advantage when he moved 0-40 ahead with his opponent serving for the match.
But again Evans was found wanting when it really counted and a delighted Grigelis celebrated a landmark victory.
