Tennis-Argentina dump champions Britain out of Davis Cup

Sept 18 (Reuters) - Argentina substitute Leonardo Mayer ended Britain's reign as Davis Cup champions with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over Dan Evans in the fifth rubber of the semi-finals on Sunday. Mayer, who unexpectedly replaced in-form Juan Martin del Potro for the deciding match, propelled the South American nation into their first final since 2011. Andy Murray, whose defeat by Del Potro in a five-hour thriller in the opening singles on Friday left Britain facing an uphill task, had pulled the hosts level at 2-2 by beating Guido Pella 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the first of the reverse singles. But Evans, ranked 53rd in the world, could not finish the job and Argentina secured a final showdown with Croatia, who had earlier beaten France 3-1. (Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ken Ferris)