Davis Cup: Japan Takes the Lead Against Colombia

Yoshihito Nishioka Wins in Straight Sets

The men’s tennis international team competition “Davis Cup” World Group I “Japan vs. Colombia” kicked off on September 14th at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. In the opening match, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka (Miki House: Singles No. 54) defeated Colombia’s Adria Soriano Varela (Singles No. 460) 6-2 6-4, giving Japan the lead. The match lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes.

This is the first time the two have faced each other. Nishioka, 28, who first joined the Japanese national team in 2015, is participating in the Davis Cup for the 10th time, with a singles record of 9 wins and 4 losses.

The two countries competed in the World Group I playoffs earlier this year, with Japan defeating Lebanon 3-1 away and Colombia defeating Luxembourg 3-2 at home to advance to World Group I. Japan and Colombia have played in the World Group playoffs in 2013 and 2015, with Japan winning both times 3-2.

The Davis Cup has been changing to a new format since 2019, developed in cooperation with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Cosmos, an investment organization founded by former Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique. 24 countries will compete in World Group I in a home and away format, with two singles matches in best-of-three sets on the first day, and one doubles match and two singles matches (first team to win three matches wins) on the second day.

The 12 countries that win each match will advance to the following year’s Finals Qualifiers, while the losing 12 countries will advance to the World Group I Playoffs.

Match Schedule

Day 1 | Saturday, September 14th

• Match 1: Yoshihito Nishioka (Miki House: Singles 54th) 6-2 6-4 Adria Soriano Varela (Singles 460th)
• Match 2: Kei Nishikori (UNIQLO: Singles 205th) vs Nicolas Mejia (Singles 237th)

Day 2 | Sunday, September 15th

• Match 3: Kei Nishikori (UNIQLO: Doubles –) / Yosuke Watanuki (SBC Medical Group: Doubles 453th) vs Nicolas Barrientos (Doubles 53rd) / Cristian Rodriguez (Doubles 107th)
• Match 4: Yoshihito Nishioka (Miki House: Singles 54th) vs Nicolas Mejia (Singles 237th)
• Match 5: Kei Nishikori (UNIQLO: Singles 205th) vs Adria Soriano Varela (Singles 460th)

*Members can be changed. Depending on the rules, the number of matches and the match format may be changed on the second day.

World rankings in the text are as of September 9th.