Japan takes on Poland in a Davis Cup tie at the beautiful venue of Bourbon Beans Dome in Miki, (That’s where the Kobe Challenger is held too). Is there any way the home team loses this one with a much stronger roster and the advantage of playing in front of their crowd? Who do you think will win this tie?
Davis Cup Predictions: Japan vs Poland
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Daniel Michalski
Head-to-head: First meeting
After not playing a single match on hard courts last year, Daniel Michalski has chosen to schedule himself differently in 2023. He’s already had some decent performances on quicker surfaces in January, pushing Timofey Skatov at the United Cup and beating Stefano Travaglia in Nonthaburi. This is such a huge step up though and with Yoshihito Nishioka being very unpleasant to face indoors (and in good form), Michalski might simply not have enough to hit through him off the ground.
Prediction: Nishioka in 2
Taro Daniel vs Kacper Zuk
Head-to-head: First meeting
Kacper Zuk was perceived as a potential Top 100 prospect after his breakthrough season in 2021, but the Pole’s form has fallen off a cliff since. He’s definitely a confidence player and there just hasn’t been much for him to draw from recently. Taro Daniel also hasn’t started the year that well and he would probably like to contest this one on a slower court. Zuk has that redline quality to win this one if he’s firing, but he just hasn’t shown it in a long time.
Prediction: Daniel in 3
Taro Daniel vs Daniel Michalski
Head-to-head: Michalski 1-0
This hilarious battle between a player whose first name is Daniel and another whose surname is Daniel has already taken place once. At the Lisbon Challenger in 2021, Michalski scored one of the biggest wins of his career by taking out the Japanese, who was ranked 111th at the time. In a grueling battle, he was able to go for broke with his forehand in the third set and prevail. It’s going to be much harder to do on a surface he’s generally not that well-suited for.
Prediction: Daniel in 2
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Kacper Zuk
Head-to-head: Michalski 1-0
Similarly like in his match against Daniel, Zuk has a slight chance here if he can execute his game at the highest possible level. He’s also performed very well for Poland in the past, especially at the ATP Cup when he defeated Dennis Novak and really pushed Marin Cilic. He was in much better form back then though and Yoshihito Nishioka is just so tricky to play against with his lefty spins. It seems like the Japanese should be able to keep Zuk on his toes.
Prediction: Nishioka in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
