Fearnley, Michelsen boost G.B., U.S.A with debut Davis Cup wins

Jacob Fearnley delivered a dream Davis Cup debut Friday when he levelled Great Britain's tie with Japan.

The 23-year-old defeated former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3 in the Davis Cup qualifiers first round. Yoshihito Nishioka had given Japan an early lead inside the Bourbon Beans Dome in Miki with his 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Billy Harris, but Fearnley produced a serving clinic to level the tie.

Fearnley, who sits at a career-high No. 77 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won 81 per cent (29/36) of points behind his first delivery and fired 12 aces en route to victory. The Briton reached the third round at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where he fell to World No. 2 and eventual finalist Alexander Zverev. 

Earlier, Nishioka rallied from a break down in the first set to seal a gutsy win and put Japan ahead in the first-round tie. The 29-year-old saved eight of the nine break points he faced against Harris en route to improving to 10-4 at the Davis Cup. 

Great Britain and Japan will continue their tie on Saturday, when two singles and one doubles rubber will be played. 

Elsewhere, the United States made the perfect start to its 2025 Davis Cup campaign. Marcos Giron sunk Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-2, 6-2 before Alex Michelsen also notched a debut win as he defeated Tung-Lin Wu 7-6(4), 6-3, moving the USA 2-0 ahead in its tie with Chinese Tapei.

_{^{Alex Michelsen in action in the Davis Cup qualifiers first round on Friday. Photo: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images}}

Michelsen, who reached the semi-finals at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah in December, has enjoyed a confident start to the season. The 20-year-old World No. 36 broke new ground by advancing to the fourth round at the Australian Open for the first time in January and sits with a 7-3 record heading into his clash with Tseng on Saturday.