Nishikori's Davis Cup heroics seal tie over Great Britain

Kei Nishikori found a fitting time to notch his 300th hard-court win on Saturday by sealing victory for Japan over Great Britain at the Davis Cup.

The former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings powered past Billy Harris 6-2, 6-3 in a dramatic deciding rubber in front of a vibrant home crowd in Miki, Japan. Nishikori’s milestone hard-court victory ensured a 3-2 win for the Japanese over Great Britain in their Davis Cup qualifiers first-round tie to set up a meeting with Germany. The winners of the second-round ties will advance to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna in November.

Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski had given Great Britain a lead with their 7-6(4), 7-6(3) win over Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki, but Yoshihito Nishioka held his nerve to restore parity inside the Bourbon Beans Dome. The 29-year-old sank fast-rising star Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 7-6(0) to keep Japan’s hopes alive.

Nishikori then sent the home fans berserk with a dominant win over Harris to put an end to a riveting tie. By making amends for Friday’s loss to Fearnley, the 35-year-old improved to 19-4 in Davis Cup singles matches.

Elsewhere, Holger Rune pulled double duty to help send Denmark through after a 3-2 victory over Serbia. The No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings teamed with Johannes Ingildsen to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic and Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 before cruising to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Kecmanovic in the singles rubber.

The 21-year-old Elmer Moller was the unlikely hero for the Danes as he rallied past 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF winner Medjedovic 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the deciding rubber. In the second round, Denmark will face the winner of the ongoing tie between Switzerland and Spain.

_{^{Team Denmark celebrate its 3-2 victory over Serbia in the first round of the 2025 Davis Cup qualifiers. Photo: Oliver Hardt/Getty Images}}

In other action on Saturday, Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert both secured straight-sets wins to move France 2-0 ahead in their tie with Brazil. Humbert edged reigning Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion Joao Fonseca 7-5, 6-3, while Fils notched a commanding 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Thiago Seyboth Wild. 

If France can go on to secure victory over Brazil, it will ensure a second-round meeting with Croatia, which moved past Slovakia. 

Australia also advanced on Saturday, with Matthew Ebden and John Peers clinching victory against Sweden with a 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2 doubles triumph over Filip Bergevi and Andre Goransson. Captain Lleyton Hewitt's side will now enjoy its first home tie since March 2022 when they face Belgium or Chile.

Rounding out Saturday's play, Hungary took a 2-0 lead against hosts Canada courtesy of singles victories from Fabian Marozsan and Marton Fucsovics. Marozsan earned a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 result against Alexis Galarneau before Fucsovics beat Gabriel Diallo 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.