Six wins out of seven have put David Murdoch's team within reach of the semi-finals

The match, which had swung back and forth, was level at 5-5 going into the final stone of the final end, with Switzerland having the advantage.

And Swiss skip Ralph Stoeckli looked to have secured a narrow win but his stone drew up just centimetres short.

David Murdoch's team, with two matches left, can now only be denied a top-four spot by a mathematical miracle.

Event guide: Curling

Early in the match, Britain had stolen last-stone points from the Swiss in both the third and fifth ends to lead 3-2 at the half-way stage.

But in the seventh, the scores were levelled at 3-3 when the umpire's measurement showed the last Swiss stone to be a hair's breadth closer to the centre.

Then David Murdoch's brave attempt at a double takeout with his last stone failed at the end of the eighth, handing Switzerland a 5-3 lead.

Curling tables and results

But the skip came good in the ninth to reign the Swiss back in with two last-gasp points and set up the nailbiting finish.

The top four teams qualify for the semi-finals, with the first-placed team from the round robin playing the fourth-placed one, and second taking on third.