Briton Toby Samuel is to make his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain after what he calls a "surreal" 12 months. Samuel, from Winchester and training in Bath, was in New York for his US Open debut when captain Leon Smith called with the news. "It was unbelievable, one of the best moments of my tennis life," he said.

At the US Open, Samuel claimed his first Grand Slam win over Tomas Machac before losing to 18th seed Jiri Lehecka. He also reached the French Open main draw, falling to world number eight Alex de Minaur, and took Jakub Mensik to five sets at Wimbledon on a wildcard.

"At first I was pretty nervous... shaking a little bit on court," Samuel said. "But after the second or third time I got more used to it and felt a lot calmer."

Stepping up to top-tier events meant learning five-set matches. "Before they were good but not really scaring people," he said of his serve and forehand. "Now they're my biggest weapons."