Cameron Norrie has been told “the only way is up” after his impressive Davis Cup debut.

The British No 3 threatened to pull off a second stunning victory against a Spaniard on clay in Marbella but fell agonisingly short on Sunday.

Norrie lost a pair of tie-breaks and fought toe to toe with fellow left‑hander Albert Ramos-Viñolas before he was edged out in four sets by the Spanish world No 21.

Britain lost the tie 3-1 but found a new star in Norrie, a 22-year-old with a cosmopolitan background, having been born to a Welsh mother and Scottish father in South Africa, raised for much of his childhood in New Zealand and more recently educated in the US.

Norrie has also spent time living in London and he has convinced the Great Britain captain, Leon Smith, he can have a big future in tennis.

Britain’s point in the match was won on Friday by Norrie with his comeback victory against Roberto Bautista Agut.

There was to be no repeat on Sunday as Ramos-Viñolas won 7-6 (4) 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-2, but Smith said of Norrie: “I’m really, really proud of him. If he needs some sort of reference point to how far he can go, he got it this weekend. The only way is up for him.”

Speaking on BBC Two, Smith said: “I can’t speak highly enough of what Cam’s done all weekend and yet again today. People might have thought it was a one-off what he produced on Friday, but he did it again today against another really high-quality player.”

Norrie, 114th in the world, will aim to raise his ranking to secure automatic entry to the grand slams, having failed to qualify for the Australian Open last month. He wrote on Twitter: “Incredible experience this weekend in Spain. Couldn’t be more proud of my team. Leaving this tie with a different perspective.”

Andy Murray’s injury-enforced absence from the British ranks, compounded by Kyle Edmund’s own fitness problems, meant few expected Smith’s team to return home in triumph. One singles win was more than might have been foreseen, but it was still insufficient as Spain moved through to a quarter-final against Germany. Britain face a play-off later in September to determine whether they will be back in the World Cup in 2019.

There was high praise for Norrie from team-mate Jamie Murray, who said the newcomer should “be super proud” of his accomplishments.

Smith believes Norrie can leave the British camp in good heart, but knowing he must work on his strength to improve his prospects of more top-level exposure. “Physically, endurance-wise, he looks in really, really good shape. He’s sitting on the bench even at the end there saying, ‘I feel I could run all day.’ The big thing for him now is he can get a lot physically more powerful so he can get more power in his strokes.”

Ramos-Viñolas, who called the match “the most special four hours of my career”, wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to Norrie for a great match.”