Fleming and Hutchins put GB ahead

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The doubles clash looked very even on paper, with Fleming and Hutchins perhaps having a slight edge because they play together on the ATP World Tour. The British pair edged the first two sets and then recovered from a blitzing in the third to triumph 6-3 7-6 (7/4) 0-6 6-3 and give the hosts a 2-1 lead in a tie where, without Andy Murray, they were very much second favourites.

A singles win for either James Ward or Dan Evans on Sunday would give Britain a first victory at this level or above since Tim Henman's last match against Croatia at Wimbledon in 2007.

As predicted, there was little to choose between the pairs and the first set was decided by a single break of the Polasek serve in the sixth game. Fleming and Hutchins both had to save break points but they looked marginally the more solid duo and clinched the set when Mertinak netted a forehand.

The home team missed a chance to break in the first game of the second set but serve dominated after that and it was no surprise when it went to a tie-break.

Fleming and Hutchins quickly moved 4-1 ahead, helped by a Mertinak double-fault, but they were immediately pegged back as Scot Fleming lost both his service points.

The key point came at 4-4 and it was the British pair who came out on top, eventually drawing the error from their opponents at the net, and Hutchins again held firm to serve it out.

As if to show how quickly momentum can shift, though, the Slovakians, having not managed a single break of serve in the opening two sets, promptly reeled off three in a row to take the third set to love.

Fleming and Hutchins badly needed to stop the rot, and they did just that at the start of the fourth in gutsy fashion, winning five points in a row after Hutchins had slipped to 0-40.

It was a crucial hold, and the British pair moved to within two games of victory when, just like they had in the opener, they broke the Polasek serve to lead 4-2. And Hutchins proved the man for the job for a third time, sealing victory with an ace on the second match point before celebrating with a Bryan brothers-style chest bump.