Dan Evans hints at end of Davis Cup career after Great Britain suffer disappointing exit

Great Britain's Davis Cup hopes were dashed in a heart-wrenching defeat despite record support in Manchester, with British tennis stalwart Dan Evans signalling a possible end to his illustrious journey in the competition.

Just last year, an ecstatic British team soared into the final eight at Malaga thanks to the heroics of Evans and Neal Skupski against France in the AO Arena.

However, the latest chapter saw a stark contrast in mood amid cheers from an unprecedented 15,700-strong crowd - even surpassing Wimbledon's Centre Court capacity - as Canada dealt a 2-1 blow to Britain, relegating them to third in Group D and out of qualifying contention.

A flawless victory was required following their previous upset against Argentina, but hopes crumbled in under an hour and a half as Canada's Denis Shapovalov ousted Evans with a decisive 6-0 7-5 win.

Evans, who this week overtook both Andy Murray and Mike Sangster with his 26th, 27th and 28th Davis Cup appearances for Britain, only second now to Bobby Wilson, grappled with the realities of a challenging year which saw his rank plummet to 178.

The seasoned 34-year-old reflected on his long span since 2009 with the Davis Cup team and hinted at retirement stating, "There's a good saying, which I wasn't very good at when I was younger: 'You've got to learn when to leave the party'," after experiencing what he termed a 'nightmare first set', garnering a mere nine points.

"I need to have a think. There's probably some better players coming than me at the minute. I don't think it's right to be putting Leon in awkward positions because I played X amount of ties. If I don't feel capable of playing, I won't come back."

"I've probably had my fair share now. So yeah, it could be and probably will be (the end). Here, definitely, anyway. So we'll see how it is."

Evans expressed his gratitude towards Smith for his unwavering support during the rocky early years of his career.

Smith intends to discuss future plans with Evans, but emphasised: "He's got to go with what he feels best for his career. I hope he stays being available.

"I'll speak to him in the next couple of days and see where his head's at but, regardless, he's been a brilliant servant for his country time and time again."

The team's new star player is Jack Draper, but the 22-year-old found himself outmatched following his US Open semi-finals run, suffering a second defeat, losing 7-6 (8) 7-5 to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Despite knowing Britain's progression was no longer possible, Draper gave his all to maintain his unbeaten record against Auger-Aliassime, ranked just one place behind him at 21, and vented his frustration by smashing his racket six times on the court after losing a nail-biting first-set tie-break.

"I need to be better, I shouldn't be doing that, but, at the same time, sometimes it does help to release a little bit of anger and a bit of tension," admitted Draper.

The match was tinged with tension, a hangover from their clash in Cincinnati last month when the umpire missed a double bounce before Draper hit the ball on match point. Auger-Aliassime hasn't let it go, admitting: "With what happened last time, I was just trying to get redemption. Not to get into whether it's his fault or the referee's fault, but I had to go to bed knowing that the match wasn't finished."

Draper, on the other hand, was fuelled by pride, saying: "I was playing for pride. I knew that Felix would really want to beat me. I think it's good in tennis to have rivalries and to have situations where not all tennis players get on massively. Hopefully we have many more battles to come."

Reflecting on his performance, Draper added: "Obviously US Open was an amazing couple of weeks for me. I had a tough couple of matches (here) but I did give it my all. I haven't played too many matches in my career so far where I feel like I've been playing really well and lost."

He also expressed self-recognition for his efforts: "I give myself a lot of credit for putting myself on the line. Hopefully I can use it as another experience moving forward."

Despite the challenges faced by the British team, including a jaded Draper, an out-of-form Evans, and an injured Cameron Norrie, the team managed to end on a high note with Henry Patten and Skupski securing a win in the doubles. However, it was a tough week for captain Smith, who lamented: "We're obviously bitterly disappointed that we're not going off to Malaga," reflecting on the team's overall performance.

"We had the euphoria of what it felt like last year but it wasn't to be. Canada were really strong today. I'm not going to make any excuses. We had enough quality in our team to get over the line, we just weren't able to do it."