France captain Yannick Noah has played down the absence of Japan's world No. 5 Kei Nishikori and called for total focus from his players ahead of their Davis Cup World Group first-round tie starting Friday.
Nishikori said at last month's Australian Open that he had opted out of the Davis Cup because of his packed tour schedule. He is set to play in clay-court competitions in South America this month.
That leaves Yoshihito Nishioka as Japan's highest-ranked player in the squad at No. 85.