A dream faded in Glasgow yesterday. An ambition and reach for sporting greatness that, in the end, was agonisingly just out of grasp.

With the swipe of one racquet and the skip of a ball, Great Britain’s hopes of holding on to the Davis Cup they won so marvellously in Belgium last November sank as Argentina, the team that will now go forward to meet Croatia in the final, leapt to their feet to embrace an overwhelmed Leo Mayer bubbling on court.

As Juan Martin Del Potro, who had defeated Murray in the first rubber on Friday, rushed across the net along with his countrymen tom form a huddle under the spotlights, the forlorn figure of Dan Evans shuffled off the court, head bowed, racquet tossed aside on the bright blue surface.

It was a picture of desolation at a match lost for the man who had just been defeated in four sets, but one that doesn’t truly illustrate the overall vision that British tennis has created over the last few years.

Under the guidance of Glaswegian Leon Smith and propelled forward by the colossal power of Andy Murray, this Great Britain Davis Cup team has thrust itself to the forefront of the sport on a global level, even if they will not be present in this year’s showpiece in two months's time.

Just six years ago, the country’s side languished in the Europe/Africa group two zone, a lowly platform they operated on while enduring defeats to tennis superpowers such as Lithuania. Now, in Andy and Jamie Murray, as well as a surging Evans and the young and upcoming talent of Kyle Edmund, they have a collective - if they can keep them together - will provide plenty of opportunities to get beyond the stage they halted at in the east end of Glasgow this time round.

“There’s only four in a team and our four are really good,” said Smith. “Don’t get me wrong, we would like to have eight or nine guys playing in the main draw of every Slam like they do. They have a very very healthy tennis nation.

“But our team is on the way up. Our guys have had a really good summer. I’m really excited by what they are doing, I think it’s great. We had a really good team out this weekend.”

All weekend the Emirates Arena, built in the shadow of Celtic Park for the Commonwealth Games, has been awash with the unusual sight of red, white and blue due to the thousands of tennis fanatics who have flocked here. This was the third time The Emirates has hosted a Davis Cup tie in the last two years and the partisan support within its walls has undoubtedly been key to the successes of Smith’s team.

Having said that, there was something quintessentially Scottish about what everyone with a Union Jack flag had to endure over a rollercoaster weekend.

The gallant loser tag is one us Scots have worn as a badge of honour for, well, ever really. It is a sentiment that was applicable here.

For so long Murray has been the man to carry the burden of responsibility for this team, but it was his stumble on Friday to Del Potro that opened the door for the Argentines. A gruelling 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 4-6 loss over five hours and seven minutes – his longest ever match – saw Murray narrowly outdone before Kyle Edmund wilted under The Emirates lights as Guido Pella won out 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 deep into Friday night.

The Murray brothers’s 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Del Potro and Mayer the following day kickstarted the belief that this tie was still salvageable. Going into his third rubber in as many days, and despite having a first serve percentage of just 62%, the world No.2 dug deep yesterday to shake off the sticky resistance of Pella in the opening set, despatching the clincher with a thundering ace.

Murray then broke his opponent in the opening game of the second before scudding in another ace and losing just one point on his own serve to take the break over a shell-shocked Pella.

The Scot soon scorched through the second set and looked destined to race to a a straight-sets win. In the end he did just that, but not without hitting a speed bump along the way. Prior to serving and 2-1 down in the third, a grimacing Murray hurtled his way off court for a medical time out after his opponent had just held to love. Despite that scare and with his thigh strapped, he returned to court to a rapturous reception as he blew away his 26-year-old opponent, eventually levelling the tie after two hours and 11 minutes with a Pella forehand sinking into the net.

“The reason I had to go off is because I can’t get my nuts out on the court. I mean, I can’t do that,” explained Murray while possibly divulging too much information.

“So that’s why I had to go off the court, because the strapping had to be done very high up on my right leg and I needed to take my clothes off.

"But, yeah, I would be annoyed for sure. I would be annoyed if that was me waiting.”

While this victory was not a ‘gimme’ by any stretch, the main questions all day swirled around who would feature in the final rubber of the day. Evans was heavily rumoured to be favoured over Edmund, while it was feared – well, at least from the Argentinian point of view – that Del Potro’s exertions over the previous two days had him spent.

Both were found to be correct. In the end, though, Evans could not halt this Argentine heavyweight side slugging its way to a fifth Davis Cup final in the quest for their first ever title.

Despite the British No.2 taking the first set 6-4, the relentless hammer first serve of Mayer would prove fatal for the hosts’ hopes. Fifteen aces were despatched beyond the diving Englishman by the Argentine No.9, who went on to win 83% of his first serve points.

This would prove crucial in Argentina’s jubilation as Mayer held firm to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, culminating in the spewing of emotion on court after not just a match but a weekend of heroism, courage and drama.

The draw for next year takes place in three days’s time, when Britain will surely come again. And better off for it.