Jacob Fearnley beat former world number four Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 on his Davis Cup debut to level Great Britain’s first-round tie with Japan.

The 23-year-old, who beat Nick Kyrgios in the Australian Open earlier this month, has risen to 77 in the world rankings from 646 over the past 12 months.

The British number three continued his rise against Nishikori to level the qualifier at 1-1, following Yoshihito Nishioka’s 7-5 6-1 victory against Billy Harris in Miki.

The tie will be decided on Saturday, when Fearnley takes on Nishioka and Nishikori faces Harris in a reverse of Friday’s singles matches.

British duo Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury play Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki in the doubles.

British number one Jack Draper pulled out of the tie in order to continue his rehabilitation from a hip injury.

Cameron Norrie, the British number two, withdrew with illness and his replacement, Jan Choinski, also pulled out.