Andy Murray says he is proud of his double's comeback with Dan Evans after admitting it was a new career experience having to save five match points.
Team GB looked set to crash out of the Olympics in the first round, but a thrilling match instead saw them prevail 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9 against Japan's Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniels.
Having already forced a tie-break in the second set, Murray and Evans had to dig deep once again in the decider after going 9-4 down, and remarkably saved five match points before booking their place in the next round.
Murray, who is set to retire at the end of the Olympics, lauded Evans for the part he played in the dramatic fightback that has prolonged his career by at least one more match.
"I don't think I've saved five match points in a row – in singles it's almost impossible to do that, so I don't think I've ever done that before," Murray said after their win.
"It's probably up there in terms of comebacks – probably the way we were playing to that stage would have not suggested we were able to come back.
"In my career, I've turned around a lot of matches I've looked unlikely to win or people thought I shouldn't have won - at times I've had that mental toughness, strength that was at times early on in my career was questioned.
"I'm really proud of that - I always try my best to fight and figure out ways to come through. I certainly couldn't have done that on my own today – as a team, Evo played his part in that.
"Evo has shown that before and helped me big time today. We both served well, came up with some great returns, and it was a brilliant turnaround."
Murray and Evans will face either Belgium's Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen or France's Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert in the next round.
Nadal unsure of future involvements after Laver Cup withdrawal
Rafael Nadal says he cannot commit himself to future tournaments after his withdrawal from the Laver Cup.
Nadal shared news on Thursday that he would not make an appearance at the annual event in Berlin, stating that it would not be in the best interests of Team Europe if he were to participate.
The Spaniard was last in action playing doubles at the Paris Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz, and while he says he is in a good space mentally, he was not able to confirm when he would next make a professional appearance on a tennis court.
He said: "Mentally, I’m good, no problems. I'm at home enjoying other things, training as much as I can every day.
"No drama, obviously these are decisions [the Laver Cup withdrawal] that are being made, and this was a possibility - it's been a while without competing. There will be someone else who can do better.
"Right now I’m not in a position to put myself down for anything.
"I said [I would play] until the Olympics and then we would see, and I'm in that period of rest."
Nadal has endured a difficult 2024 so far, playing just 21 competitive singles matches with a record of 13-8.
He has only one grand slam victory to his name this year, beating Jack Draper in the Australian Open, but he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz sends Spain into Davis Cup last eight
Carlos Alcaraz has led Spain to the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup Finals after a straight-sets win over Ugo Humbert.
The 21-year-old needed just one hour and 21 minutes to cruise through with a 6-3 6-3 victory, hitting 21 winners to his opponent's 14 as he backed up Roberto Bautista's win earlier on.
Bautista had to come from behind to edge past Arthur Fils, beating him 2-6 7-5 6-3, and converting 40% of his break points, bettering the Frenchman's 27%.
Spain are through in Group B, but elsewhere in Group D, US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper's return was unable to inspire Great Britain to victory.
Dan Evans was beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry earlier on Friday before Draper's first match since New York ended in a straight-sets 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat to Francisco Cerundolo.
Despite making fewer unforced errors than the Argentinian (23 to 39), the British number one struggled to find an edge, though Evans and Neal Skupski claimed a consolation win in the doubles to make it 2-1.
They sit second in the group, missing the chance to qualify for the last eight, and now needing a win against Canada, who have been in fine form so far.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov sweep aside Finland at Davis Cup
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov moved Canada to the brink of qualification in the Davis Cup Finals group stage, comfortably dispatching Finland in Manchester.
Shapovalov needed just an hour and 13 minutes to beat Eero Vasa 7-6 (7-2) 6-2, backing up his win against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday.
The Canadian served five aces to his opponents' three, producing three love games in the final set to get his nation off to a flying start.
Auger-Aliassime followed up Shapovalov's victory with another straight sets win, this time over Otto Virtanen, emerging a 6-2 6-3 victor.
The world number 21 was dominant on serve throughout his 73-minute triumph, saving all three break points he faced and winning 86% of his first-serve points.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov then prevailed in the doubles against Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen in another straight sets win, putting them top of Group D without dropping a set against their opponents.
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