Tennis Evans suffers Davis Cup defeat to world No 253 Mejia in Colombia

[Lupin]

Britain's Dan Evans suffered a surprise 6-2 2-6 6-4 defeat to Nicolas Mejia in a crucial Davis Cup Qualifier on Friday.

Victory for world No 253 Mejia handed Colombia a crucial 1-0 lead on the clay courts of Pueblo Viejo Country Club which is being played 2,500 metres above sea level on the outskirts of capital city Bogota.

Evans, ranked 30th, struggled playing with depressurized balls, making a total of six double faults with five of those coming in final set of the opening rubber.

British No 1 Cameron Norrie levelled the tie with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Nicolas Barrientos.

Evans is scheduled to partner Neal Skupski against former world No 1 doubles pair Juan-Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the first of matches on the second and final day on Saturday.