Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot said they had to keep it together after fighting back from a set behind to win their Davis Cup doubles match and put Great Britain 2-1 up against Uzbekistan.
The duo recovered from losing the first set to beat Denis Istomin and Sanjar Fayziev in four sets, 4-6 7-6 (1-8) 6-2 6-3, to move Britain one step closer to winning the best-of-five tie.
They need just one more victory in one of Sunday’s two singles rubbers to triumph in Glasgow, ensuring they are seeded in the revamped Davis Cup when it starts in February.
But despite the British pair being heavy favourites going into the doubles, they did not have it all their own way and Murray admitted they had to hang in there during the second set.
“We were fighting hard in the first couple of sets but couldn't quite find a break,” said Murray, who won the mixed doubles title at the US Open with Bethanie Mattek-Sands last weekend.
“We were so close to being two sets to love down, then we relaxed a bit and played really well in the last two sets.”
Inglot added: “It got a little bit dicey, but we kept it together. After we got that second set we were able to settle a little bit and the crowd really got involved and helped us out, so thank you so much.”
GB captain Leon Smith said: “They got a lift off what happened in the second match, so they believed it was possible. The quality came through and I thought we were exceptional as the match went on.”
The tale of the first day was a shock defeat for Cameron Norrie, who squandered a match point in his five-set defeat to world number 434 Jurabek Karimov.
It meant the overall tie was level after the first single rubbers, following Dan Evans’ gutsy 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 0-6 6-4 7-5 victory over Istomin, with Great Britain heavy favourites for the doubles.
But the surprises kept on coming as the experienced British duo got off to the worst possible start when Murray was broken in his first service game to give Uzbekistan an early 2-1 lead.
A fine lob from Murray earned Great Britain a break back point in the next game, but Fayzeiv shrugged off the pressure and a service winner ensured the Uzbek duo held.
Murray and Inglot had one more opportunity to break in the eighth game, but Fayziev held his nerve once again before the visitors took the first set 6-4.
The GB pair found themselves in more trouble at the start of the second set, but this time Murray was able to save break point on his own serve in the third game.
It remained on serve for the rest of the set before Murray and Inglot rose to the occasion in the tie break to claim it 10-8 and level the match.
With the momentum now in their favour, the Brits broke Uzbekistan for the first time as they took advantage of Fayzeiv’s serve before racing away with the third set and maintaining their control in the fourth to seal victory.