Thailand No.1 Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul is hoping to give Thailand a solid start to their two-day Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone third-round battle with Lebanon, which begins today.
Wishaya was yesterday drawn to face Lebanon's No.2 player Hady Habib in the first singles rubber of the Group 2 tie at the National Tennis Development Centre, Muang Thong Thani.
The stakes are high in the clash with the winners earning promotion to Group 1 next year.
The second singles tussle will be between Thailand No.2 Palaphoom Kovapitukted and Lebanon's top-ranked player Benjamin Hassan.
In the doubles clash, which will be played tomorrow, Thai twins Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana take on Habib and Giovani Samaha.
The reverse singles will pit Wishaya against Hassan and Palaphoom versus Hady Habib later in the day.
Thailand Davis Cup captain Weepat Dokmaiklee is expecting a tough battle against Lebanon.
"Lebanon are a strong team but we are ready for them," said Weepat.
"Our goal is to win the match but we cannot underestimate them at all, especially their star player Hady Habib who is very good.
"I believe it will be a close fight for each and every point.
"The players have been advised to stay focused throughout and concentrate on their own game."
Wishaya said: "I am quite confident because I have had good results in the last two tournaments that I have played.
"Lebanon will not be easy opponents but I am ready to do my duty and give the Thai team a winning start to the match."
Sonchat said: "We are not worried about the game with Lebanon. We are ready to deliver a point to the Thai team by winning the doubles match."
In Osaka, Japan took a commanding 2-0 lead on the first day of their Davis Cup World Group play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina yesterday despite the absence of US Open semi-finalist Kei Nishikori.
With Nishikori unavailable for the hosts, world No.72 Taro Daniel put Japan in charge of the tie, crushing Tomislav Brkic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6.
Ranked a lowly world No.240, Brkic was no match for the 25-year-old Daniel, who smashed down 15 aces to wrap up the rubber in just over two hours in Osaka.
Yoshihito Nishioka punched above his weight in the second match as the world No.170 thrashed 79th-ranked Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Japanese tennis is riding high, celebrating its first Grand Slam singles winner in Naomi Osaka who won the US Open title last weekend.