Great Britain were brought back down to earth with a bump in the Fed Cup on Thursday night as they lost their group clash with Austria 3-0.

Confidence was high after their 3-0 whitewash of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday, but they were unable to follow that up against a strong Austrian line-up.

Anne Keothavong, marking her return to tennis following a six-month absence with a serious knee injury, slipped to a 6-2 6-2 defeat to world number 107 Patricia Mayr in the opening match.

The 26-year-old was broken twice in the first set and then unable to claw her way back from a 4-0 deficit in the second as Mayr gave Austria the perfect start.

Sybille Bammer then ensured an unassailable lead with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Elena Baltacha.

Baltacha, ranked 33 places lower than her opponent at 83, managed to break Bammer three times but the experienced Austrian always held the edge.

Austria completed a 3-0 victory later in the evening by winning the dead doubles rubber.

Sarah Borwell and Keothavong tried hard to salvage some pride for Britain but were beaten 6-4 6-4 by the pairing of Mayr and Yvonne Meusburger.

Great Britain captain Nigel Sears admitted afterwards Austria were deserved winners.

"Naturally I'm disappointed - we were beaten by a better team on the day," he said.

"It's a reflection of the strength of the Austrian team that they've won both singles against Belarus and us.

"I think the girls gave it their very best. There's no question that there's a lot more to come from Annie K.

"It's nice to see her playing again; I just feel it was a bit too much to ask from her on the day."