Jack Draper claimed an emphatic victory on his long-awaited return from injury to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Norway in Davis Cup qualifying.
British number one Draper has spent five months on the sidelines with a bruised bone in his service arm.
His comeback was delayed twice by the injury and he missed January’s Australian Open to complete his recovery.
However, he served well, moved sharply and showed some brutal ball-striking to bear Viktor Durasovic 6-2 6-2 in his first competitive match for 164 days.
Sterner tests will await world number 13 Draper, who is ranked 300 places above Durasovic, but he will be relieved to have rattled through a convincing win after a long spell out.
“It’s been a difficult time but I knew I had to keep on practising and keep learning about myself,” the 24-year-old said.
Cameron Norrie will face Nicolai Budkov Kjaer later on Thursday in the best-of-five tie.
Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash will team up for the doubles on Friday, with two singles matches to follow if the tie has not been decided by then.
The winner of the tie in Oslo will face either Australia or Ecuador for a place in November’s eight-team Finals.
