Thailand suffered two losses to hosts New Zealand on the first day of their Davis Cup World Group II tie at Invercargill yesterday.
In the first singles match, Thailand No.2 Kasidit Samrej was beaten 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) by New Zealand No.1 Rubin Statham.
After being outplayed in the first set, Kasidit regrouped and performed much better in the second but still lost in the tie-break.
In the second singles, Thai-Australian Maximus Jones faced Ajeet Rai.
Rai proved much too strong as he won 6-1, 6-3.
"It was an incredible match for me," Rai said.
"It's good to take a point for the team and we are two points ahead which is really good. We hope the team will do well tomorrow [today].
"Maximus is a good player. He is still young and needs to gain experience. He is the player to watch in the future."
Today's action starts with the doubles match between Thailand's Pruchya Isaro and Wishaya Trongcharoengchaikul and New Zealand's Finn Reynolds and Artem Sitak at 7am, Thai time.
Maximus and Statham will meet in the third singles match, followed by the fourth singles rubber between Kasidit and Rai.
The 12 winning nations will compete in the 2024 Davis Cup World Group I play-offs while the 12 losing teams will compete in the 2024 World Group II play-offs.