Heather Watson has put Great Britain two wins away from the semi-finalsHeather Watson put in a dominant display to keep alive Great Britain's hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow.
The 30-year-old was ruthless in a 6-0 6-2 win over Nuria Parrizas Diaz to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Group C tie against Spain.
Great Britain need to win all the matches - both singles and the doubles - to progress to the knockout stage.
Harriet Dart takes on world number 13 Paula Badosa next at Emirates Arena.
Watson, who did not play in Tuesday's opening group defeat by Kazakhstan, is her team's most experienced player in the competition with this her 34th appearance.
And in front of a home crowd, playing for her country, she was in her element.
"I was really happy with my level today, I played super aggressive and had so much fun out there," she said.
"I do love playing in this atmosphere. I have had my best Grand Slam results at Wimbledon and I love playing at home. It brings out the best in me.
"I love being part of a team, I'm naturally a team player. I enjoy playing for my country."
Watson gives underdogs GB hope of an upset
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals sees 12 teams split across four groups, with the winners of the round-robin stage going through to the semi-finals.
Britain failed to qualify after losing to the Czech Republic in April, but were given a spot as the host nation when Glasgow was awarded the event.
Anne Keothavong's team are ranked below group rivals Spain and Kazakhstan, with their prospects of causing a shock hampered by the absence of star player Emma Raducanu because of a wrist injury.
But with her performance against Parrizas Diaz on Thursday, Watson has given Great Britain a chance of an upset and a huge boost of confidence.
Visibly fired up by the occasion, she was in charge from the start, dropping just one point in the opening two games before fending off four break points in a lengthy third game to hold for a 3-0 lead.
Her belief grew, as did her ability to deliver delicately angled drop shots that the Spaniard could get nowhere near and she eventually sealed the set when Parrizas Diaz went long.
Watson, ranked 43 places below her opponent at 115th in the world but showing the kind of form that took her to the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time this year, got the key break to love in the sixth game of the second.
Cheered on by her team-mates, captain and a noisy crowd, Watson did not waver as she continued to pile the pressure on to her opponent, who went wide with a backhand to hand the Briton a well-deserved victory and send the arena to its feet.
Earlier, Australia became the first team to reach the semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Group B rivals Belgium.
Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up, was in dominant form as Canada beat Italy 3-0 in Group A.
Fernandez spent a combined 90 minutes on court to win 6-0 6-0 in singles and dropped just two games in the doubles, with Canada now playing Switzerland on Friday to decide who goes through.
