Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon gave France a 2-0 lead over Japan after singles victories in a Davis Cup World Group first-round match on Friday.
Simon beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4 in the second singles match after Gasquet overpowered Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the opener at Ariake Colloseum.
Japan’s top-ranked player Kei Nishikori has opted out of the tournament due to a busy schedule.
Yuichi Sugita and Yasutaka Uchiyama are scheduled to play Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the doubles on Saturday.
France holds a 3-0 advantage over Japan in Davis Cup head-to-heads.
Sentiment rank: 3.6
