Dudi Sela has apologised for his woeful performance as Israel missed out on a place in the Davis Cup World Group following a 3-2 defeat against Belgium.

Sela lost both his matches as Israel failed to capitalise on a 2-1 advantage, with the hosts winning the final two matches of the playoff to progress.

"I had no confidence throughout the game," said Sela after his four-set defeat against Ruben Bemelmans.

"I was favourite against Bemelmans but I played dreadfully. He didn't play particularly well, but I was most awful.

"I tried all sorts of ways to improve but nothing worked. I'm very disappointed."

Israel coach Eyal Ran said: "This has happened to us before two years ago in Austria and we succeeded in bouncing straight back to the World Group. That’s the goal. We’ll carry on forward and lift up our heads."