Japan and Croatia are tied 1-1 after the opening day of their Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on Friday at Bourbon Beans Dome.
Go Soeda staked Japan to a 1-0 lead in the opening match with a victory over Ivan Dodig, however ace Kei Nishikori was surprised by Ivo Karlovic and fell in straight sets 3-6, 3-6,
Soeda, ranked 90th in the world, stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Dodig in a five-set thriller 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, that lasted 4 hours, 5 minutes.