By Tony Fairbairn
- Japan def Great Britain 3-2
- Leon Smith admitted it was a ‘difficult’ defeat to take against Japan as Great Britain return to World Group I action in September.
MIKI, JAPAN – Leon Smith reflected on a ‘difficult’ defeat to Japan in the Davis Cup qualifiers as a return to World Group I in September awaits.
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It was Davis Cup disappointment for Great Britain once again as they fell to a 3-2 defeat to Japan in qualifiers.
The defeat means Leon Smith’s side will return to World Group I in September for the first time since 2013.
On the first day both teams shared the spoils as Billy Harris fell to a 7-5 6-1 defeat to Japan’s number one, Yoshihito Nishioka.
After a competitive opening set, Harris fell off to the experienced Nishioka as he gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in Miki.
However, the British team soon levelled the tie as Jacob Fearnley defeated Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 on his Davis Cup debut.
The Brit was leading the line on his debut but the occasion never fazed the Brit as he comfortably secured a straight sets win.
Speaking after his Davis Cup debut, Fearnley admitted he was happy with how he played as he had one of his best days on a tennis court.
“Very happy with how I played, it was a great match. I loved playing in front of all the fans that came to watch and I feel good to get a win for Great Britain,” Fearnley told the LTA website.
“I knew I had to play really well, knowing how good a player Kei is and how good he’s been on the tour for so many years I knew I had to play a perfect match on serve and do as much as I could to make balls in the court and luckily I had one of those days today.”
It was all to play for heading into day two which started with the doubles as Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski took on Yosuke Watanuki and Yuzuki Takeru.
There was nothing to separate the two teams but Salisbury and Skupski’s doubles experience and power paid off as they won both tiebreaks as the British team took a 2-1 lead.
This gave the British team the edge in the tie as they were one win away from victory but that’s where the good news stopped unfortunately.
Japan stepped up their game in the reverse singles as there were comfortable wins for Nishioka and Nishikori over Fearnley and Harris respectively as Britain’s hopes of reaching the second phase of qualifiers ended.
After the tie Skupski reflected on his doubles win and the tie in general as World Group I awaits in September.
“I’m very proud of mine and Joe’s performance today. We did exactly what we spoke about yesterday with our game plan,” Skupski told the Eurosport website.
“We came up against two massive servers and delivered on the bigger points, especially the tie-breaks, but it’s obviously a difficult day for these boys, but they came up against two very good singles players in Nishioka and Nishikori.
“Like we said at the start of the week, these boys have put in an amazing effort and gave it their all. They should be really proud of what they’ve done – representing Great Britain, it’s a real honour.
“Thanks again to Leon for picking us, and hopefully we can build on this and go again in September.”
Full Tie Results:
Rubber One: Nishioka def Harris 7-5 6-1
Rubber Two: Fearnley def Nishikori 6-3 6-3
Rubber Three: Salisbury/Skupski def Watanuki/Takeru 7-6(4) 7-6(3)
Rubber Four: Nishioka def Fearnley 6-3 7-6(0)
Rubber Five: Nishikori def Harris 6-2 6-3
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Smith reflects on ‘difficult’ defeat
So there will be no chance of Great Britain winning the Davis Cup this year as they will compete in World Group I for the first time since 2013.
A tough reality check for the British team to take as they will need to earn their spot in next year’s qualifiers.
Speaking after the tie Leon Smith admitted it was a ‘difficult’ defeat to take but he is still proud of his players.
“Losing is difficult, but I can’t fault the efforts of the four players here over the last two days, and the whole week for that matter,” Smith told the Eurosport website.
“They’ve been great to work with, they gave everything they could on the match court. You win some, you lose some, but you can always control what you put in, and they’ve done that really, really well for their country.
“Congratulations to Japan – they played very well and have good depth in their team. You’ve got Nishioka who’s been top 25, Nishikori has been No. 4 in the ATP rankings, so there’s a lot of quality, and we pushed them hard. We wish Team Japan all the very best for the rest of this year as well.”
The draw for World Group I will take place on the week of the tenth of February and will involve nations who lost the qualifiers as well as the winners from the World Group I Play-Offs.
The tie will take place on the weekend after the US Open, which is the 12-14th of September.
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