Overview

• Jan-Lennard Struff beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 to give Germany a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five tie.
• Yannick Hanfmann plays Shintaro Mochizuki in Friday's second singles match at Ariake Coliseum.
• Germany plans to field Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz in Saturday's doubles, a duo holding a 17–1 Davis Cup record.
• The qualifier features four singles and one doubles, all best-of-three sets, with the first team to three wins advancing to the Finals in Bologna on 18–23 November.
• The tie streams on Tennis Channel with early start times for European viewers, and betting lines list Germany as the favorite (Bet365 about 1.25).