Ivo Karlovic came to his side’s rescue, beating Japanese No.1 Kei Nishikori as Croatia evened out the first day of the Davis Cup tennis World Group first round tie on Friday.

Croatia’s number three Karlovic fired down 18 aces on his way to a straightforward 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory in the second singles rubber.

The 22-year-old Nishikori, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open last month to become the highest-ranked Japanese men’s player at 20th in the world, did not have a single breakpoint throughout the 109-minute match.

Earlier in the day, Japanese number two Go Soeda caused a stir when he stormed back from two sets down to beat Ivan Dodig 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 6-4 6-3 7-5 in an opener that lasted four hours and five minutes.

“I can’t believe that I actually won. I didn’t feel that there was a big difference with my opponent. It was a result of my usual hard work. It paid off,” said Soeda, ranked 90th against Dodig’s 55th.