Summary

  • Result: Italy 3-2 Great Britain

  • Seppi beats Ward 6-4 6-3 6-4

  • Fognini beats Murray 6-3 6-3 6-4

  • Italy into first semi-final since 1998

  • GB's best Davis Cup campaign for 28 years

Live Reporting

Mike Henson

  1. Ward breaks

    Twang! James Ward's forehand grinds along the net cord like a lounge lizard working the 3am dancefloor, before dropping on Italian territory. That takes him to deuce, but Andreas Seppi has been through the same clay-court finishing school as Fabio Fognini.

    A drop-shot lands on Ward's side of the court like a butterfly touching down on a petal. There are a few ricks rattling about in the Italian's game though and he double-faults to give Ward break point.

    A backhand into the net from Seppi takes back on serve.

    This match is looking like a jitter-fest.

  2. Seppi breaks

    Thirty-thirty and James Ward is offered an enticing mid-court ball by Andrea Seppi. The Londoner guesses wrong with his attempted winner, choosing the forehand wing where Seppi is ready and waiting.

    Break point to Italy and Seppi milks the mistake from Ward concentrating fire onto the forehand wing.

  3. Andreas Seppi runs down a heavy-handed drop-shot from James Ward, reaching it with ease and pressing a forehand down the line. Ward cannot scrape that one back and Seppi has the game in the bag.

    The Italian is looking the smarter of the two when the rallies go long. Ward would be well advised to keep it short and sharp.

  4. Get Involved

    Bantem Pete on Twitter: Fightback is on. Well done Wardy. Memories of America are starting to appear.

    Alex Payton on Twitter: Courageous last game by Ward, come on GB.

  5. BBC Radio 5 live

    Neil Harman, tennis correspondent for The Times newspaper, in Naples tells BBC Radio 5 live: "It's a question of whether Ward can stay with Seppi. Ward is not a clay court expert and this is a demanding prospect. But this is an opportunity to make a name for himself in the the annals of British tennis."

  6. Andreas Seppi's forehand is dictating terms from the baseline, but he shovels a little wide to allow James Ward back to 15-15 after the Briton lost the game's opening point.

    The Italian crunches away a backhand off a rising ball for 15-30, but Ward gets his eye in with a couple of accurate and powerful aces to get himself out of a pickle.

  7. Ward breaks

    The drop in standard from the Fabio Fognini-Andy Murray humdinger is notable and understandable.

    Andreas Seppi lets James Ward back into the game as he gets a bit casual and fails to cut off the corridor of space down the line. Ward chases down a lost cause to exploit that space and out of nothing he works up a break point. Converted. The opener is back on serve.

  8. Get Involved

    Andy MurrayGetty Images

    Tom Flanagan on Twitter: Murray just looks as though he hasn't fully recovered from his three or four months off. He isn't as good as everyone seems to think at the moment.

    Dawn Williams on Twitter: Everyone relied too much on Andy Murray in this Davis Cup tie, there's only so much he can do.

    Allie on Twitter: British media are foolish for assuming that Andy would beat anyone in singles not called Rafa, Roger or Novak.

  9. Jonathan Overend
    BBC Sport commentator

    "The danger for Ward is that his opponent might just be too solid."

  10. Seppi breaks

    Love-thirty and James Ward looks like he is playing in concrete boots. Not gets his feet and his game going though in the next two points, pinning Andreas Seppi with a dipping pass attempt to level at 30-30.

    Ward pushes wide though to offer up a break point. His serve, one of his chief weapons, is not making much of an impression on Seppi's game. Ward fails to adjust to a mis-hit return and scoops tamely into the net to give Italy an early head-start.

  11. BBC Sport's David Law in Naples: Half the stadium has emptied. Almost feels like a dead rubber. That will change. Seppi holds for 1-0.

  12. Andreas Seppi begins with a double fault. He has only won four games all year. Maybe he is ripe for an upset. Disappointingly he wins each of the next four rallies after getting the ball into play.

    "We love you Wardy," chant the British fans, who have hung around in larger numbers than the home fans.

  13. Andreas Seppi to serve. Crowd filling back in post refuelling. Let's roll.

  14. Get Involved

    Alex Batten on Twitter: Can Seppi handle the sudden pressure of carrying the nations hopes on his shoulders? Like Ward, he can't have expected to play.

    Holly Sinclair on Twitter: Wrong decisions from captain Leon Smith. Andy unwell so he plays him in doubles after a hard game against Seppi? Stupid.

    Chris Luetchford on Twitter: People slating Andy Murray clearly don't have much of a clue about tennis or his opponent.

  15. Dominic Inglot
    British doubles player talking to BBC TV

    "Seppi has a lot of pressure on his shoulders now. There's a lot of expectation on him."

  16. The players are out on court.

    James Ward took a set off Fabio Fognini in the tie's opening rubber, which is more than Andy Murray managed. Murray beat Andreas Seppi in straight sets in the second rubber. Therefore, an easy win is in store for Ward.

    Everyone like that logic? Here's hoping.

  17. John Lloyd
    Former British number one on BBC TV

    "Seppi has a reputation of being a choker in big matches. The crowd will expect him to win, they will not have heard of James Ward before."

  19. The case for British optimism will be built around James Ward's starring role in the Davis Cup win over the United States, where he beat then world number 45 Sam Querrey on clay in five sets.

    Ward also beat Querrey and France's Adrian Mannarino in a notable run to the semi-finals at Queens' in 2011, proving he can lift his game in front of noisy British fans. And there are plenty of those in Naples.

    His last outing on clay before this tie is a little less encouraging however. He lost 6-2 6-1 to world number 169 Gastao Elias in a Challenger event in Panama.

  20. The tale of the tape makes unsettling reading for Great Britain in the final singles rubber. James Ward is ranked 161st in the world, well behind Seppi who is 34th on the ladder.

    They have never met and that is because Seppi is usually in the main draw while Ward is battling through qualifiers or the Challenger circuit.