Argentina struggle

Argentina’s defence of the Davis Cup title looks set to end less than three months after they won the trophy for the first time.

Without talisman Juan Martin del Potro, they could offer little resistance in front of their home fans in Buenos Aires and trail Italy 2-0.

Guido Pella lost 6-3 6-3 6-3 to Paolo Lorenzi before Andreas Seppi beat Carlos Berlocq 6-1 6-2 1-6 7-6 (8-6).

Evans’ plan was to seize the initiative from the off and not allow Shapovalov to be the aggressor but the work was done for him.

Shapovalov, with his long blond hair and flashy one-handed backhand, certainly stands out from the crowd but he was wild in the early stages.

Evans looked comfortable in his role, his nerves only betrayed by four double faults in the opening three games.

Shapovalov grew into the match, feeding off the lively crowd at the ice hockey-turned-tennis arena, and there was little rhythm for Evans to feed off.

In the fifth game of the second set the Canadian followed a complete air shot with a ripped backhand winner and forced two break points but Evans quickly shut down the threat.

And in the following game he showed the class that earned him wins over Marin Cilic and Bernard Tomic in Melbourne, a super lob and deft volley helping him to the crucial break.

Shapovalov continued to fight his hardest, but a comeback never looked on the cards.

And the 250 fans who have made the trip from Britain were able to celebrate a job professionally done when a desperate Shapovalov forehand bounced into the net after an hour and 50 minutes.

SNOOKER AMERICAN FOOTBALL