Israel's Davis Cup chances are hanging by a thread after they went into the final day of their tie against Chile 2-1 down.

Having lost the first two singles rubbers, Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich gave Israel a lifeline by earning a thrilling five-set victory.

They fought back for a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (11-9), 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Jorge Aguilar and Paul Capdeville.

The final two games are later this afternoon.

Ram said: "The six years experience that Yoni and I have playing together allowed us to remain cool even when we looked like we weren't in the picture.

"It was a great victory and we can still go on to beat Chile."

Monday's reverse singles will decide the winner here, as Chilean Fernando Gonzalez will take on Dudi Sela in the first match and Nicolas Massu is scheduled to face Harel Levy in a possible deciding rubber.

Massu got the Chileans going with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sela and Gonzalez doubled the hosts' advantage by overcoming Levy 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on the red clay.

The winner will meet the Czech Republic in July's quarter-finals.