Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic put Australia in the box seat of its Davis Cup World Group play-off tie with Slovakia, after commanding straight-sets wins on day one.
Tomic put Australia within one win of a World Group return in 2017 with a 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jozef Kovalik. With the win, he equalled Rod Laver's Davis Cup record (now 17-4). Earlier, Australian No.1 Kyrgios opened with a brisk 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Andrej Martin to give the host the perfect start.
No Nishikori, no problem as Japan takes commanding lead
Japan grabbed the initiative in its Davis Cup World Group playoff against Ukraine on Friday as Taro Daniel and Yoshihito Nishioka put the home side on the brink of victory.
With World No. 5 Kei Nishikori rested for the opening day's singles following his exertions over the summer, Daniel set the tone by beating an ailing Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6, 7-6, 6-1 in sweltering conditions in Osaka.
Nishioka then upset Illya Marchenko 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to leave Japan needing to win Saturday's doubles to retain its World Group status next year.
Nishikori, who won bronze at the Rio Olympics before reaching the semifinals of the US Open last week, is scheduled to play in Saturday's doubles in partnership with Yuichi Sugita.
Germany 2-0 up against Poland
Jan-Lennard Struff and Florian Mayer prevailed against Polish youngsters Kamil Majchrzak and Hubert Hurkacz to give Germany a 2-0 lead.
Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Poland's Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(8), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in three hours and 43 minutes.
In the second match, Florian Mayer overcame the challenge of Hubert Hurkacz 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-6 to give Germany a firm grip on the Davis Cup tie.
Rain delays Davis Cup start in Moscow
The start of the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie between Russia and Kazakhstan has been pushed back to Saturday because of persistent rain, the country's tennis federation chief said on Friday.
"If everything is alright we will play both singles and the doubles," on Saturday, Shamil Tarpischev told the R-Sport news agency.
"If there are delays and bad weather on Saturday, we will continue playing on Monday."
Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov — currently ranked 47th in the world — will now play the opening match at 0700 GMT against Kazakhstan's Aleksandr Nedovyesov.
This is the first time the teams have met in the Davis Cup.
Results:Davis Cup World Group playoff:
UZBEKISTAN 1 SWITZERLAND 1
Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Antoine Bellier (SUI) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Henri Laaksonen (SUI) d. Sanjar Fayziev (UZB) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
BELGIUM 2 BRAZIL 0
David Goffin (BEL) d Thiago Monteiro (BRA) 6-2, 6-2, 6-0
Steve Darcis (BEL) d Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
AUSTRALIA 2 SLOVAKIA 0
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) d. Andrej Martin (SVK) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Bernard Tomic (AUS) d. Jozef Kovalik (SVK) 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4
INDIA 0 SPAIN 2
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
David Ferrer (ESP) d. Saketh Myneni (IND) 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
GERMANY 2 POLAND 0
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) d Kamil Majchrzak (POL) 6-7(8), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
Florian Mayer (GER) d Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5
JAPAN 2 UKRAINE 0
Taro Daniel (JPN) d Artem Smirnov (UKR) 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-1
Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) d Illya Marchenko (UKR) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5
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