Norrie gives GB lead over Poland in Davis Cup

Cameron Norrie survived a scare against world number 545 Tomasz Berkieta to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Poland in the Davis Cup.

World number 34 Norrie saved set points in a nervy first set but recovered to win his nation's opening World Group 1 match 7-6 (11-9) 6-4 in Gdynia, Poland.

World number 227 Arthur Fery, 23, will make his Davis Cup debut in the second match against Olaf Pieczkowski, ranked 484, after British number three Jacob Fearnley pulled out with a rib injury.

The overall winners of the tie, taking place on Friday and Saturday, will play in next February's first round, and therefore have a shot at winning the title in 2026.

The world's number one doubles pair, Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash, will make their debut in Saturday's doubles, which will be followed by two reverse singles.

World number seven Jack Draper was unavailable for the tie because of an arm injury which has ruled him out of the remainder of the season.

With Poland missing their top two singles players - Hubert Hurkacz and Kamil Majchrzak - Fery's opponent Pieczkowski is their highest-ranked player.

That meant Britain were heavy favourites coming into the tie, which was compared to a Premier League team facing a non-league side in the FA Cup.

But captain Leon Smith warned that it was not necessarily that straightforward. And so it proved as Norrie made hard work of his match against 19-year-old Berkieta, ranked 511 places below him.

Norrie was immediately on the back foot, saving two break points in his opening service game.

A tricky set followed with neither player conjuring further break point opportunities and the Pole forcing a tie-break.

Norrie saved two set points before missing three of his own in an error-strewn tie-break but a double fault from Berkieta then Norrie's pinpoint serve from sealed the 30-year-old the opener.

Norrie then showed his experience in set two as Berkieta's belief and level trailed off and an early break of serve was enough for Norrie to secure victory and Britain's first point of the tie.

A torn bicep and illness had prevented former top-10 player Norrie playing Davis Cup since the 2023 quarter-final with Serbia.

He has already played 22 tournaments this year but said playing for his country is "one of my favourite weeks" of the year.

Britain lost 3-2 in Japan in the first round of this year's Davis Cup, and so must win this tie to maintain their status among the elite. Defeat would mean a February play-off, which could result in relegation to World Group 2.