Davis Cup qualifying 2025: GB tie against Japan 'great opportunity' for new names, says Leon Smith
2025-01-30
Category: sports

Great Britain's Davis Cup qualifying tie against Japan is a "great opportunity" for others in the absence of Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie, says captain Leon Smith.World number 77 Jacob Fearnley is the highest-ranked Briton in the squad in his first call-up to the team.Scotland's Fearnley, who had a meteoric rise in 2024, is joined by Billy Harris and doubles specialists Joe Salisbury and Neil Skupski.British number one Draper has opted to miss the tie to continue his rehabilitation from a hip injury, while Norrie withdrew with illness.Norrie's replacement, Jan Choinski, is also ill and has been replaced by world number 388 Giles Hussey.Henry Patten, who won the Australian Open men's doubles title with Harri Heliovaara, is also absent.Englishman Harris will face Japan's world number 63 Yoshihito Nishioka in the first match at 04:00 GMT on Friday, before Fearnley faces 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori."We would have loved to have had [Cam] here, but I think it's a great opportunity for the others," Smith said."I have seen it before in the past in the ties when we haven't had our top players there - it's time for others to take that opportunity, win or lose, and learn from it."Victory in Miki would see Smith's team advance to the second round of qualifying in September, where they would face either Germany or Israel for a place in November's eight-team Finals.
Fearnley reached the third round of the Australian Open earlier in January, losing to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev.He was unranked in August 2023 but ended 2024 inside the top 100, having won four titles in a row on the Challenger Tour."You can see with your eye what he's got," Smith told BBC Scotland."He has got weapons in his game that can take him further up the rankings. He's got a great forehand, a lot of speed, a lot of pace on it that can hurt opponents. "There are areas for sure that he's going to have to get better at. But there are qualities in his game that are going to allow him to progress the way we think he can."