Andy Murray proved he is no Davis Cup choker with a straight sets victory over Alexander Peya that drew Great Britain level with Austria at one rubber apiece in their World Group play-off.
Austria's Jurgen Melzer had claimed Murray would struggle to cope with the pressure because "the whole country expects him to win the Davis Cup by himself".
But Murray, the new world number four, had no troubles in dispatching Peya — and he then made a choking gesture to mock Melzer's assessment.
"I was told I wasn't going to be able to handle the pressure particularly well but Jurgen struggled out there a little bit more than me," said Murray.
Melzer had earlier rallied from a set and 4-1 down to win the first rubber of the tie against Britain's Alex Bogdanovic 3-6 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 6-1.
But Murray ensured the tie is level heading into tomorrow's doubles by easing to a 6-4 6-1 6-3 victory in front of a packed house.
Meanwhile, Spain took a 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup semi-final against the United States today after world number one Rafael Nadal survived a spirited attack from rookie Sam Querrey and David Ferrer beat Andy Roddick.
With Spain needing just one more point to reach the final, the Americans have a mountain to climb to retain their title starting with tomorrow's doubles match.
Only once in 32 ties have they come back from a 2-0 deficit and US captain Patrick McEnroe will be rueing their missed chances.
Nadal struggled in the first set against world number 39 Querrey as the American's booming serves drove the tired-looking Spaniard deep behind the baseline before the French Open and Wimbledon champion finally won 6-7 6-4 6-3 6-4.
World number five Ferrer won the first set on a tiebreak, collapsed under a barrage of blistering serves from eight-ranked Roddick in the second and third, only to roar back and steal the match 7-6 2-6 1-6 6-4 8-6 in a nail-biting finale.
In the other semi-final, Argentina lead Russia 2-0 after today's singles rubbers in Buenos Aires.