THE unalloyed delight of "fairytale Friday" was followed yesterday afternoon by a sobering tale from the Brothers Grimm with a heartbreaking ending for Great Britain in the world group Davis Cup tie in Glasgow.

It may be a tad harsh to dub the Bryan siblings as grim but they are undoubtedly sombre on court until they explode with energy at the winning of a crucial point or even a match.

The USA pair celebrated last night but with a weariness after their trademark chest bump. It took them three hours and 39 minutes of increasingly tense tennis to defeat Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (8-10), 9-7, in a match that seemed to glide slowly towards USA before a storm, precipitated by an electric atmosphere within the Emirates Arena, turned the match towards GB.

The Bryans won because they made fewer mistakes. It is what they do, committing 12 such errors to 48 by the home side. They also plundered Murray's serve mercilessly in the first two sets with the Scot being broken on four occasions, basically every time he served.

It was the 29-year-old Scot's serve that also proved fragile in the decisive set but the Bryans broke to win by exploiting flaws in both players, and taking advantage of the fact that their rivals' partnership had been forged by necessity rather than over the decades.

Murray and Inglot, who played doubles as juniors, winning a tournament somewhat delightfully in Donnybrook, walked into a gladiatorial arena to have a bruising encounter with a pair who had won 104 doubles tournaments together, including 16 Grand Slams.

The Britons showed their mettle by not only taking the rubber to five sets but by denying the Americans a match point in a fourth set tie-break. This twist was typical of the Emirates narrative that has the sublime followed by the extremely unlikely. In all three matches, the team seemingly destined for victory has hit a bump. Only Andy Murray, rested for yesterday's doubles, remained unshaken and largely unstirred by losing a set after winning the first two. John Isner lost from two sets up to James Ward and the Bryan brothers struggled after gaining the first sets yesterday.

The early exchanges proceeded as expected to a background that was, in contrast, verging on the bizarre. The support from the team and the support staff for GB was as passionate as the fans. Murray the younger's voice could regularly be heard drifting across court and Matt Little, the fitness, coach was as energetic as the two-year-old who has first use of the dance floor at a wedding. There was a moment when he bumped into the world No 5 and glimpses raced before the mind of the headline: Team GB Hero Injured in Fist Bump Incident.

This energetic support was rewarded by brave resistance from the Team GB pairing but the Bryan brothers took the early sets with that mixture of deft technique and instinctive understanding that marks their game.

Breaks were exchanged in the first set before the American sealed a break to take the set 6-3 in 30 minutes. They required 27 minutes to do the same in the second, winning 6-2.

This seemed to be another excellent adventure for Mike and Bob, another day at the office, albeit one where several of the workers wore Union Jacket suits and the office Tannoy blared out the Proclaimers.

There was no hint then of the resurgence to come. The Bryans just looked better, slicker and in control of the match. There was passion in the arena but a measured, professional calm within the Bryans.

But something strange happened in the third. Murray and Inglot forced break points when leading 2-1. It took three opportunities to convert, including one spectacular rally, but they broke and that was enough to take it 6-3.

There was still the feeling, though one not obviously shared by anyone on Team GB, that this was possibly a consolation prize on a day when the USA would take the one point on offer.

But the fourth set was tightly contested and went to a tie-break. This was a microcosm of the drama that has consumed the Emirates this weekend with Great Britain having two set points before saving a match point. A Murray forehand volley, though, set up a deciding set.

Team GB had running repairs at 3-2 in the fifth, with Murray having treatment to his side and Inglot's right knee having attention. But the Brits battled on. They seemed to have the advantage in the tightest of matches by dint of serving first but at 7-7, they gave the Bryans a glimpse of redemption and they took it. A Murray volley into the net sealed the game in the Americans' favour but it was Inglot who had been unusually fragile.

At 8-7 and serving, the Bryans finally had victory in their sights. It was an Englishman who subsequently played the last shot in the match when Inglot's desperate forehand sailed long and the Bryans celebrated with a chest bump.

It was a physical expression of relief and joy between brothers but it would have felt like the most brutal Glasgow kiss to the pairing on the other side of the net.