Jacob Fearnley was unfazed by the pressure of leading an inexperience Great Britain team as he won on his Davis Cup debut.
The British number two took on Kei Nishikori in his Davis Cup debut in Miki, Japan as the British team are without Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie in Japan.
However Fearnley had no problems as he dispatched Nishikori 6-3 6-3 to secure victory on his Davis Cup debut.
Speaking after the match Fearnley was happy with his performance in an important match for the team, “Very happy with how I played, it was a great match,” Fearnley was quoted by the LTA website as saying after the 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. 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.”
The Brit has had a sensational last year which has included testing Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, climbing into the world’s top 100 and reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open.
Fearnley’s win means the tie is now level as earlier in the day Yoshihito Nishioka defeated Billy Harris 7-5 6-1 to put the Japanese team in the lead.
The doubles is set to be Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski against Yosuke Watanuki and Yuzuki Tekaru with the reverse singles following the doubles.
Play will get under way at 03:00 GMT.