Evans feels culpable for Britain's Davis Cup exit after losing deciding rubber

The raw pain of defeat was etched on Dan Evans' face after Great Britain narrowly failed to reach a second straight Davis Cup final.

The combined efforts of Andy and Jamie Murray helped the defending champions recover to 2-2 against Argentina after losing both matches on Friday, setting up a deciding contest between Evans and Leonardo Mayer.

But this time the hero was the Argentinian, who produced a superb display of serving to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.

"It's not a nice feeling," said Evans, who had won deciding rubbers against Slovakia and Russia previously.

"The last time that happened was Lithuania. It's pretty raw right now, for everyone. You do feel like you're the one that lost the match for those guys. I t adds a bit of extra salt to the wound."

While Evans' mind may have drifted back to the 3-2 loss to Lithuania in 2010, that also served as a reminder of what an incredible run Britain have been on.

Leon Smith took over as captain that summer and has suffered defeat just three times, guiding Britain from the brink of relegation to the bottom tier all the way to the most unexpected of titles with victory over Belgium last November.

"We lost a semi-final, so of course it sucks," he said.

"It feels rough and so it should. We worked really hard to get to this point again, but we've had great times in Davis Cup. It's amazing and when you reflect back on it we've had a hell of a run."

The result meant Andy Murray's efforts in dragging his body through the pain barrier in victory over Guido Pella were in vain.

After more than eight hours of tennis already in this tie and on the back of a gruelling summer, it was amazing he even had the energy to walk on to the court.

All seemed fine until the early stages of the third set, when he began to wince in pain and then took an off-court injury time-out - "because I can't get my nuts out on the court," as he memorably put it - for treatment to his thigh.

The Scot said: "I've never really had any muscle injuries before. That was worrying for me and thankfully I managed to get it done in straight sets."

Murray will now focus on resting his aching body ahead of a scheduled return to tour action in Beijing in two weeks' time, which may mean sitting out his own charity event in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Smith hailed his star man for another immense effort, saying: "He's a tough nut. He's banked a lifetime of working exceptionally hard, showing everyone what it's like to dedicate your whole life to becoming one of the best athletes in world sport and it shows in times like this. Hopefully now he can find some time to rest because he certainly deserves it."