Substitute Aiko Nakamura was the heroine yesterday when she beat Austria's Barbara Schwartz 6-2, 7-5 to secure Japan's place in the elite Fed Cup World Group.
Nakamura, deputizing for Ai Sugiyama who suffered leg cramps on Saturday, overcame stage-fright and two dropped match points to establish an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the play-off.
"It's great to join the elite eight-team World Group with these members, it's really great. It's the result of that everybody supported each other in the team," said Nakamura, 22, who also sealed Fed Cup wins against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
PHOTO: EPA
"I was told to play this match yesterday [Saturday], because Sugiyama was not in good condition. I was so nervous in the beginning and I didn't know what to do, but after the third game I felt much better. I was able to play my game afterwards," she said.
The win puts Japan among the top eight nations in women's tennis for next season's World Group.
"The best thing for the Japanese players is that we can now play among the eight powerhouses in the World Group," coach Minoru Ueda said.
"It's really important to get the chance to play against them, to have a lot of great experiences from the contest. Every team is strong," he added.
Schwartz, ranked 666th against Nakamura's 71st, broke in the second game but was no match for the Japanese player's two-handed power strokes.
"The situation was 2-0 for Japan, so it was a bit difficult for us, but we really wanted to try," Schwartz said.
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