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Japan's Kei Nishikori sealed victory against India during their Davis Cup World Group play-off tie in Tokyo. (AFP)
Japan stormed back into the Davis Cup World Group for the first time in nearly three decades on Sunday after Kei Nishikori defeated Vishnu Vardhan to give the hosts an insurmountable lead over India.
Nishikori, ranked 55th in the world against Vardhan’s 456th, coasted to a straightforward 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory to put the tie beyond doubt at 3-1.
In the last, dead rubber, Rohan Bopanna quit the match at 5-4 up in the first set to give Go Soeda a win and Japan a 4-1 overall scoreline.
Japan, who had only three wins and 18 defeats against India previously, have not played in the World Group since 1985. They advanced to the play-off by beating Uzbekistan 4-1 in July.
On Friday, Japan’s Yuichi Sugita upset higher-ranked Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 and Nishikori chalked up a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Bopanna to give Japan a commanding lead.
India stayed in the tie after Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up with Bopanna in the doubles to keep India’s hopes alive, beating Tatsuma Ito and Sugita 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
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