Johanna Konta held her nerve to secure victory for Great Britain over Slovenia in their first home Fed Cup tie for 26 years.
Britain’s world number 39 saved three set points in a tense first-set tie-break, before eventually beating Dalila Jakupovic 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 in Bath.
Katie Boulter had given GB a winning start by overcoming Kaja Juvan 6-4 6-2.
It meant GB had an unassailable lead before Harriet Dart and Katie Swan won the doubles rubber for a 3-0 victory.
There are eight teams – split into two groups – taking part in the Europe/Africa round-robin event in Bath between Wednesday and Saturday, with only one side able to progress to April’s play-off event to fight for promotion to the second tier.
In the absence of the experienced Heather Watson, who was ill, debutant Dart and Bristol-born teenager Swan entertained the West Country crowd with a 6-2 6-2 win over Jakupovic and Juvan.
They received rapturous support throughout the evening despite a relatively late 22:15 GMT finish.
It took Konta an hour and 20 minutes to win a gripping first set against 27-year-old world number 86 Jakupovic.
There were eight breaks of serve and Konta saved three set points by winning four points in a row in the tie-break before slamming a forehand on to the outside edge of the line to claim the set.
She produced a more commanding performance to take the second set, wrapping up victory on her third match point when Jakupovic netted a service return.
“What I tried to draw on is vast experiences – it’s not the first time I’ve been down in a tie-break or down in a set,” Konta told BBC Sport.
