GREAT BRITAIN 1, JAPAN 0
Venue: Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, GBR (hard – indoor)

World No. 2 Andy Murray, who is playing for the first time since his runner-up finish at the Australian Open, recorded his 28th match win for defending champion Great Britain with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Taro Daniel in 90 minutes.

“The second set was tough – a lot of close games and some tough points, which was good for me,” said Murray. “I was getting a little out of breath but I played a good match, served well, missed a few second serves but the first serve went extremely well, so it was a nice start.”

World No. 6 Kei Nishikori will now look to level the tie against Great Britain’s Daniel Evans.

SERBIA 1, KAZAKHSTAN 0
Venue: Pionir Hall, Belgrade, SRB (hard – indoor)

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic extended his Davis Cup winning streak to 10 matches by giving 2010 champion Serbia the advantage with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over Aleksandr Nedovyesov in one hour and 53 minutes.

Viktor Troicki will now look to hand Serbia a 2-0 lead against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin in the second singles rubber.

AUSTRALIA 1, UNITED STATES 1
Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Kooyong, AUS (grass – outdoor)

Australia, the 28-time champion, is level at 1-1 with 32-time winner United States on Friday.

World No. 11 John Isner secured the opening rubber for the United States by hitting 20 aces to beat Sam Groth 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes. “It was a very, very good performance for me and certainly I’ve played in a lot of matches in my career where I’ve struggled on return, but I think today I was pretty solid.”

Later, Bernard Tomic improved to 16-3 in singles rubbers for Australia by breaking a three-match losing streak against Jack Sock, competing in his second Davis Cup, 7-6(2), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 24 minutes. “I hadn’t beaten Sock before so I knew that it was going to be tough,” said Tomic.

Lleyton Hewitt, who is making his debut as Australia’s Davis Cup captain, said, “Bernie did really well. Right from the start he came out serving great, hitting his spots really well.”

Australia’s Groth and John Peers are scheduled to play Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in Saturday’s doubles rubber. “Bob and Mike Bryan seem to be at an advantage in the historical count of doubles in Davis Cup, but every day is a different day,” said US captain Jim Courier. “They’ve played awfully well. We feel confident in them, but… we don’t take anything for granted, we’ll be ready to go.”

Hewitt added, “The Bryans obviously are the favourites tomorrow in the doubles. But I still think our guys have got a good shot at it, and then on the last day anything can happen.”

Juan Martin del Potro will continue his comeback at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells next week after being award a wild card into the main draw along with several fast-rising young Amercians.

The Argentine, who missed most of 2015 due to left wrist surgery, made a successful return to the ATP World Tour in Delray Beach in February, losing in the semi-finals to eventual champion Sam Querrey.

“This week I won more than a tournament,” del Potro said after the loss. “I am so glad to play tennis again.”

The 2013 finalist (l. to Nadal) will take part in his second tournament of the year. The former No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings is 16-5 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

Joining del Potro in the Indian Wells as main draw wild cards will be American youngsters Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Mackenzie McDonald and in-form veteran Rajeev Ram, who has battled – and fallen – in the qualifying rounds in four of the past five years in the desert. He is seeking his first main-draw win at the event.

Fritz is having a breakout 2016 season, moving into the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time after making the final of Memphis and the quarter-finals of Acapulco. The 18 year old, ranked No. 81, will make his main draw debut at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

Receiving a wild card into the qualifying draw is American Brian Baker. Baker had been out of action due to injury since 2013 before making his return to competition at the 2016 Australian Open (l. to Bolelli in the first round). It remains his only appearance of the year.

As a five year old, Lleyton Hewitt fell in love with tennis watching countryman Pat Cash’s heroic 1986 Davis Cup final performance against Sweden on the grass of Kooyong. 30 years on, the former World No. 1 will make his debut at the helm of the Australian Davis Cup team on the same court.

“There’s a lot of preparation going into a Davis Cup tie, especially at home,” noted Hewitt, who penciled his own name into the team’s four-player lineup after Nick Kyrgios was unable to play due to illness. “I’ve tried to enjoy the process as much as possible. Now it’s just about putting the best players out there and trying to get the three match wins.

“It won’t be easy but we believe we have a really good shot.”

Hewitt, who announced his retirement as a player at the 2016 Australian Open, is not planning on taking to the court over the weekend. Instead, he has named big-serving Sam Groth as Kyrgios’ replacement.

“He can back up singles or doubles, which is great,” said Hewitt of Groth, who is slated to face John Isner on Friday and Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan on Saturday (partnering John Peers). “He has so much passion and so much pride. His results on a grass court in Darwin against Kazakhstan last year gave him a lot of confidence. On this surface, he’s a great person to have on your team.”

Australia’s other singles player will be Bernard Tomic. The country’s top player in the Emirates ATP Rankings did not have much time to adjust to the quick playing surface in Kooyong after a successful hard court run last week, but Hewitt believes that the quick turnaround will not pose a problem for the World No. 20.

“Bernard is coming off a final in Acapulco. It’s hard to beat confidence coming in. I am not worried about his limited preparation.”

Business As Usual For Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, recovered from an eye ailment which forced him out of Dubai last week, will assume his usual role of top singles player for Team Serbia. The World No. 1 will face 200^th-ranked Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the opening match of the Serbia-Kazakhstan World Tour first-round tie. Djokovic has not lost a Davis Cup rubber since 2011, when he retired in a singles match against Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.

Murray At The Ready For Team GB

World No. 2 Andy Murray returns from paternity leave to help his country defend its Davis Cup title against a Japanese squad led by Kei Nishikori. Murray, who has not played since losing the final of the Australian Open against Djokovic, will face No. 87 Taro Daniel  in the first rubber. Daniel Evans is a late substitute in the Great Britain lineup, taking the place of the injured Kyle Edmund against Nishikori in the second singles match on Friday.

Zverev’s Big Chance In Hannover

Sascha Zverev will make his Davis Cup debut for Germany against Tomas Berdych in the second singles rubber on Friday. The 18 year old is ranked No. 58 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to the Czech’s No. 7, but the youngster nearly pulled off the upset in the pair’s latest meeting three weeks ago in Marseille. Berdych prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.