“There’s definitely a lot more pressure than I was used to,” said Samuel, before offering his gratitude to Norrie in particular. “Cam brings a lot of calm. We’re a very young, new team, especially the singles players. And having him here, it gives us that belief that we can do it.”
Fery also took a while to settle against Álvaro Guillén Meza, the world No 226 and a man happiest on red clay. There were chances for Fery to win almost every return game he played in the first set, but they kept going begging.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 12th game. And from there, Fery relaxed and powered through to a 7-5, 6-0 victory – a decent way to mark his first match in London since July’s miraculous run to the Wimbledon semi-final. This was also Fery’s first Davis Cup match in front of a home crowd, after he defeated Poland’s Olaf Pieczkowisk on his debut in Gdynia a year ago.
Summing up the day, Smith explained that “If you get a [Davis Cup] debut, maybe it’s better to be away from home. It sounds counterintuitive, but the eyes are off you a little. [For Samuel], when you’re 0-4 down it’s not a great feeling and I think he showed great resilience.”