Nishikori leads Japan vs. Croatia in Davis Cup

Kei Nishikori will be aiming to build on his success at the Australian Open when Japan takes on Croatia in this weekend's Davis Cup World Group tie. Nishikori, who became the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open since the Open Era began in 1968, will face Croatia's Ivo Karlovic on Friday. Japan's Go Soeda takes on Croatia No. 1 Ivan Dodig in Friday's other singles match. Saturday's doubles will feature Karlovic and Lovro Zovko against Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita, while Sunday's reverse singles will see Nishikori face Dodig and Soeda against Karlovic. Japan is returning to the World Group for the first time in 26 years after beating India 4-1 in a regional playoff in September.