Britain call up Evans for Davis Cup semi-final

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain gave Dan Evans, ranked 300th in the world, a surprise call-up on Thursday as their second singles player for the Davis Cup semi-final against Australia in Glasgow this weekend. The 25-year-old joins brothers Andy and Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot in a team trying to reach their first final since 1978. World number three Andy Murray will play Thanasi Kokkinakis, ranked 72, in Friday's opening singles match with Evans then playing Bernard Tomic (23). U.S. Open doubles runner-up Jamie Murray will team up with Inglot, who reached the men's doubles semis in Flushing Meadows, for the third rubber against Samuel Groth and Lleyton Hewitt on Saturday. Evans, who had been due to play a challenger event in Istanbul this week, was preferred over far higher-ranked Kyle Edmund and James Ward for the second singles slot. Edmund is ranked 100th in the world but had never played a Davis Cup tie and fell heavily in practise this week while Ward has lost his last 10 matches. Britain are in the semi-finals in the team event for the first time since 1981. The winners of the tie will face either Belgium or Argentina in the final from Nov. 27-29. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)