GB's Davis Cup Finals hopes over as Evans & Draper lose

Great Britain's Davis Cup Finals hopes are over after Dan Evans and Jack Draper were both defeated against a strong Canadian team.

Leon Smith's Great Britain needed to beat Canada 3-0 in Manchester to progress to November's knockout stages in Malaga.

But their fate was sealed early on Sunday, with Evans' 6-0 7-5 loss to Denis Shapovalov, meaning GB will finish outside the top two in Group D.

That was followed by British number one Jack Draper losing 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Evans said afterwards he was thinking "long and hard" about ending his Davis Cup career.

He is expected to return alongside Neal Skupski in the doubles to complete the tie.

Canada, the 2022 champions, advance along with Argentina, who booked their place in the final eight with a 3-0 win over Finland on Saturday.

Evans has played 28 Davis Cup ties for Great Britain and was a substitute when they won their last title in 2015.

However, he was swept aside in the first set by Shapovalov, who silenced the 15,000-strong crowd at Manchester Arena by taking the opener in just 25 minutes.

The Briton, 34, finally got on the scoreboard when he held early in the second set but failed to make the most of two break points at 4-4.

Former world number 10 Shapovalov was able to back up a dominant first set when he struck the decisive blow at 6-5 to take his nation to the knockout stages, which will take place from 19-24 November.

Evans said afterwards he would speak to captain Smith about potentially ending his Davis Cup career.

"I've thought about it long and hard. I'll have to think a little more," Evans told BBC Sport.

"I love competing for my country. I've loved every minute of it but sometimes you've got to know when to leave.

"It will be a difficult decision but sometimes it's nice to give somebody else the opportunity and watch from afar."

Playing just nine days after his US Open semi-final defeat, Draper fended off two break points early in the opener and went toe to toe with Auger-Aliassime for the rest of the set to force a tie-break.

The 22-year-old Briton fought back from 6-3 down in the tie-break, saving five break points before eventually conceding with a poor miss.

He responded by smashing his racquet furiously on the court floor which led to a leaf-blower being used to clean up the debris.

It looked promising for Draper when he broke in the first game of the second set but he was soon pegged back and paid the price when Auger-Aliassime struck again for a 6-5 lead before serving out the victory with an ace.