• e-mail

Great Britain's Davis Cup first round ended in sensational fashion on Sunday night, victory achieved through a sudden default after the umpire was hospitalised due to being hit in the face by a ball.

Canada's teenage star Denis Shapovalov wrote his name into the competition's 117-year history by handing a 3-2 victory to GB with a flash of temper that could have ended in serious injury.

Kyle Edmund was already well in control of the deciding rubber when his opponent, the reigning Wimbledon junior champion, hit French umpire Arnaud Gabas flush in the left eye when he angrily smashed the ball away from mid court.

Umpire Arnaud Gabas sits with ice while tending to his face after being hit by the ball

Denis Shapovalov was defaulted after hitting the umpire in the face with the tennis ball

Shapovalov was trailing Kyle Edmund in a deciding rubber when he fired a ball away in disgust

Having just been broken to trail 6-3 6-4 2-1, Shapovalov – 17 and tipped as a potential Grand Slam winner - could not contain himself and was issued with an immediate default to confirm Britain's place in the quarter finals.

They will now face France away in early April with the hope that Andy Murray, who absented himself after his Australian Open disappointment, will be back.

A crestfallen Shapovalov afterwards immediately sought out Gabas to apologise, before the umpire was taken to hospital for a check-up. He was said by an International Tennis Federation spokesperson to have 'swelling and bruising around his left eye'.

In line with his reputation as a 'great kid' – as described by his Captain Martin Laurendeau – Shapovalov swiftly fronted up with a public apology. It seemed he had been trying to hit the ball into the net, but miscued horribly.

Blinking back tears he said: 'I feel incredibly embarrassed and ashamed and feel awful for letting my team and my country down. I want to apologise to the umpire and referee, it was unacceptable from me. That is the last time I'm going to do anything like that, I'm going to learn from it.'

Shapovalov rushed across to Gabas to check that he was ok after the ball hit him in the face

After Gabas was hit in the eye, the tie was defaulted meaning Britain beat Canada 3-2

The 17-year-old Shapovalov was visibly stunned by his mistake, which cost Canada the tie

Shapovalov is the reigning junior Wimbledon champion and tipped as a star of the future

Referee Brian Earley, who does the same job at the US Open, had come onto the court to talk to the umpire and Captains, and had no alternative but to immediately disqualify the player. There was a degree of booing from the 6,000 strong crowd, but replays showed there was simply no option.

Defaults are rare in tennis and this was the highest profile example since David Nalbandian kicked out at a line judge in the final of the 2012 Queen's tournament.

Perhaps there was more of a parallel with the incident involving a young Tim Henman at Wimbledon 1995, when he was disqualified for pole-axeing a ballgirl when swatting a ball away into her chest, also by accident.

Firing balls into the crowd has been the subject of controversy in tennis over the last twelve months, with many feeling that Novak Djokovic, a repeat offender, has been dealt with leniently for several contraventions.

However, even the sometimes fiery Serb would have been kicked out for something as serious as this.

Shapovalov (left) had his match with Kyle Edmund defaulted, handing Britain a 3-2 win

Gabas' sister, Charlotte, tweeted this update on her brother on Sunday night

Shapovalov allowed his frustrations to get the better of him in the tie

As the anger boiled over, Shapovalov decided to hit the tennis ball away in anger

The Canadian lashes the ball away, unintentionally in the direction of the umpire

The incident overshadowed an admirably calm and professional performance from Edmund under immense pressure against the talented southpaw. It was the GB number three's first time in the anchor role of a Davis Cup match.

Edmund initially looked bemused and said later: ''It's just unfortunate and a shame. At first I didn't process it, I was focusing on my serve coming up. I wanted to win the match and felt I was playing well, I was in control.''

Captain Leon Smith, delighted with what was regardless a strong team performance, said: ' I feel sorry for Denis, he has learned a harsh lesson. The most important thing is if the umpire is okay, that kind of thing can be very dangerous.

'I thought it was a terrific effort from Kyle and I'm very pleased with winning this in front of their strong home support.'

Earlier Vasek Pospisil had made it 2-2 with a 7-6 6-4 3-6 7-6 win over Dan Evans, in which the Canadian produced outstanding serving under pressure to halt the Midlander's recent run of form.

Britain's Edmund reacts during the tie against Shapovalov before it was ended abruptly 

Edmund pictured shaking hands with team captain Leon Smith on Sunday