The world tennis number one Roger Federer secured Switzerland's spot in next year's Davis Cup World Group with a straight sets win over Italy's Potito Starace to give the Swiss an unbeatable 3-1 lead in their playoff.
Federer won both his singles after returning to the claycourts of Europe following his defeat in the US Open final.
But despite the heroic efforts of the world number three Andy Murray, Britain have been relegated to the tennis wilderness - group two of the Euro-Africa zone, after losing 3-2 to Poland.
And New Zealand's attemtp top r\eturn to Asian-Oceania Group One ended with a 4-1 loss to the Philippines in Manila.
