Japan secured its spot in the top tier of next year's Davis Cup by completing a 3-1 World Group playoff win over Brazil on Monday.
Yuichi Sugita, ranked 42nd in the world, clinched the victory by winning the first reverse singles match, defeating world No. 116 Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Brazil entered the day trailing 2-0 after the first singles rubbers and stayed alive in a straight-sets doubles victory. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares beat Japan's Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-2 in the doubles.
The doubles had originally been scheduled for Saturday, but that match and Sunday's reverse singles could not be played until Monday due to the effects of a passing typhoon.