"It sure is (historic) – this is something really special," said captain Anne Keothavong after the Brits' deciding victory in the doubles.

"I’m just so proud of this team. Every single player on the team has done us proud, the team spirit has been high, and I just want to thank everyone who has come to support the British team here. It really makes the difference and we really appreciate the support.

"We want to put women’s sport and tennis on the map and the support you give us is helping us to create amazing memories."

Great Britain put in an extraordinary performance on Thursday night in front of the home crowd to beat a strong Spanish side 3-0, with Heather Watson and Harriet Dart clinching upsets in the singles, before Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls maintained their 100% record competing for their country.

Any signs of pressure were quickly squashed with Watson wasting no time in putting the Brits ahead with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz. Inspired by her teammate’s performance, Dart came out and dazzled the home crowd with one of the performances of her career to beat the world No.13 Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-4.

With a place in the semis on the line, Barnett and Nicholls stepped up to compete in only their second match for GB and came through as 7-6(5), 6-2 winners over Aliona Bolsova and Rebeka Masarova.

"We knew we had a massive challenge on our hands," said Nicholls after clinching the final victory for the British team.

"Hev played a blinder and then Harriet has beaten Badosa and we won the doubles. I think a lot of people wrote us off and I think the team spirit and comradery meant we just wanted to do it for each other.

"I genuinely didn’t want to go home tomorrow, I want to stay here and I want to play the next round."