Japan and Canada split Friday's opening singles matches in their best-of-five Davis Cup matchup in Vancouver.
Milos Raonic gave Canada a 1-0 lead by beating Tatsuma Ito 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. The Day 1 nightcap then saw Japan's Kei Nishikori top Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
Saturday's doubles has a Canadian pairing of Pospisil and 42-year-old Daniel Nestor facing a Japanese duo of Go Soeda and Yasutaka Uchiyama.
Sunday's reverse singles call for Raonic to battle the U.S. Open runner-up Nishikori in a marquee matchup and Pospisil to tangle with Ito on the indoor hardcourt at Vancouver's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Canada and Japan are squaring off in a repeat of last year's first-round clash. The 2014 encounter in Tokyo saw both sides depleted by injuries and it was the Japanese who extended their perfect record against the Canadians to 6-0.
The Canadians are captained by Martin Laurendeau, while the Japanese are guided by Minoru Ueda.
The winner in Vancouver will move on to face Belgium or Switzerland in a quarterfinal in July.
[SportsNetwork.com]
