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Jacob Fearnley beat former world number four Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 on his Davis Cup debut to level Great Britain’s first-round tie with Japan. <\/b><\/p>\n
The 23-year-old, who beat Nick Kyrgios in the Australian Open earlier this month, has risen to 77 in the world rankings from 646 over the past 12 months.<\/p>\n
The British number three continued his rise against Nishikori to level the qualifier at 1-1, following Yoshihito Nishioka’s 7-5 6-1 victory against Billy Harris in Miki. <\/p>\n
The tie will be decided on Saturday, when Fearnley takes on Nishioka and Nishikori faces Harris in a reverse of Friday’s singles matches.<\/p>\n
British duo Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury play Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki in the doubles. <\/p>\n
British number one Jack Draper pulled out of the tie in order to continue his rehabilitation from a hip injury.<\/p>\n
Cameron Norrie, the British number two, withdrew with illness and his replacement, Jan Choinski, also pulled out. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n