Taro Daniel completed a comeback by Japan in a Davis Cup qualifier with a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 win over China's Li Zhe in the final singles match Saturday, securing a 3-2 aggregate victory.
By winning the tie at the Guangdong Olympic Tennis Centre, Japan booked its place in the inaugural Davis Cup finals to be held this November in Madrid.
The Chinese doubles pairing of Zhang Ze and Gong Mao-Xin gave their country a 2-1 lead earlier in the day by beating Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
But world No. 66 Yoshihito Nishioka defeated Wu Yibing 6-2, 6-0 in the first reverse singles to set up the decider between Daniel and Li.
The tie was locked 1-1 entering the second day after 69th-ranked Daniel beat Zhang 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 and Nishioka lost 6-3, 6-2 to Li on Friday.