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Mark Petchey says Japans world No 6 Kei Nishikori offers Great Britain a different test to anything they faced in their Davis Cup triumph last year. Britain begin the defence of the trophy they won in November when they take on Japan in Birmingham this weekend and hopes are high of a potential repeat triumph.With world No 2 Andy Murray in the team, Leon Smiths squad were always strong favourites last year and Murray dropped just two sets in his eight singles rubbers along the way to glory. Evans gets GB nod Leon Smith names team for Japan tie But world No 6 Nishikori is a more than capable performer and already has a title under his belt this year having won in Memphis in February.Murray has a 5-1 winning record over the Japanese No 1, his only defeat coming at the 2014 World Tour Finals, but Petchey believes another top ten ranked player gives the tie a different look. Obviously last year you always felt Andy had the edge in the singles, it always felt like he was the better player in the one v ones. If he tees it up against Kei his superiority on the court is not going to be quite as overwhelming, Petchey told Sky Sports. Great Britain won the Davis Cup in 2015 That is something that gives a different dynamic heading into this tie to anything they had to deal with last year.Lets not underestimate the Japanese team, there is an awful lot of class with Nishikori and with [Taro] Daniel as well who is certainly not to be underestimated.Petchey concedes Britain go into the World Group first-round tie as likely winners despite the prospect of a tough encounter that could go all the way to Sundays final singles rubber - saying Murrays return to action for the first time since his Australian Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic and home advantage should give them the edge. Andy Murrays (right) lost just two sets in eight singles rubbers last year I think they are favourites given what they achieved last year, confidence is high amongst the team and Andy is playing, Petchey added.Despite having a lay-off since Australia I dont see any real problems with him coming back in and hitting the ground running. He knows how to hit a tennis ball, thats not going to have been forgotten amongst the nappy duty! Magical Murray role Remebering Andy Murrays role in Davis Cup glory Its at home, having won it last year the atmosphere will be phenomenal when they walk out on Friday. From that perspective there is not going to be any lack of desire from that team to put in a performance.Having ended a 79-year wait for Davis Cup glory, Petchey believes Great Britain could play with greater freedom having finally won the trophy - but admits things could go the other way with a degree of expectancy now on the team.Expectations are high and you can argue things either way, the Sky Sports expert said.The pressure to defend, wanting to go deep, have another deep run this year and the feeling it gave British tennis after the team did so well. But on the other hand they have won it, so the pressure is off to a large degree as theyve shown that as a team they are able to go on and win it. You could argue that it is now a slightly easier tie for Britain.The feeling is good within British tennis and the Davis Cup camp is strong. GBs route to Davis Cup glory We plot the path to a Great Britain repeat Whenever you have got some like Andy committed to a cause in the manner he was last year and clearly is going to be in the opening tie, you have got a great shot of repeating - a lot will depend on Andys season in terms of what he plays with the Olympics being this year.That is one of those unknown variables this year in terms of how far this team can go. If he is able to come out for every tie than the odds of defending the cup go up significantly. Also See: Evans gets GB nod GBs route to 2016 glory.... Magical Murray Zeroes to heroes Discount KD Shoes . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Cheap KD Shoes Free Shipping . 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DENVER -- Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu gets little national recognition, despite having won a Gold Glove in 2014 and starting for the National League All-Star team the following year.LeMahieu had his third four-hit game of the season and the fourth of his career Monday night in a 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals. Hes hitting .337 with a .410 on-base percentage and moved into second place in the race for the NL batting title.When the series continues Tuesday, LeMahieu will try to make up ground on Nationals infielder Daniel Murphy, who went 1-for-4 on Monday and leads the league with a .347 average. He lost one point on his average Monday, while LeMahieu added six points to his.Hes a really good player, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. He gets on base. He has one of the highest averages in the league. Hes had a great year, and hes worked real hard to turn himself into this kind of player.LeMahieu has a career-high eight homers among his career-high 38 extra-base hits and has scored 76 runs and driven in 43. He has nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (62) and is hitting .288 (62-for-215) on the road and .390 (78-for-200) at Coors Field.He uses the whole field, Weiss said. Those are the guys that typically you think of as a guy who can win a batting title.The Rockies have lost four straight games and 10 of their past 12 and at 56-63 have slipped seven games below .500 for the first time since July 21. Chad Bettis will start Tuesday for the Colorado Rockies, which might be a good omen. The Rockies have lost just one of the past six games he has started and are 15-9 when he takes the mound.dddddddddddd The Rockies are 10-2 in his past 12 starts with Bettis going 6-1 with a 4.96 ERA in those games.This will be Bettis first start and second career appearance against Washington.Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who will oppose Bettis, is 8-9 with a 4.24 ERA. In his last start Wednesday against Cleveland, Gonzalez allowed four runs in five innings but earned the victory in Washingtons 7-4 win. Gonzalez is 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his past seven starts, limiting opposing hitters to a .221 batting average and a .684 OPS in that span.Gonzalez is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies and 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in one career start at Coors Field.Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth, who had a day off Sunday, went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk in Mondays win. He has reached base in 43 consecutive games, tying Ryan Zimmerman for the Nationals longest on-base streak. Zimmerman reached base safely in 43 straight games from April 8-May 25, 2009.During his current streak, Werth is batting .263 (40-for-152) with 31 walks and a .384 on-base percentage.Its a product of my approach, Werth said of his on-base streak. And my approach has been pretty solid now since the early part of June or late May, somewhere in there. I got away from it at the beginning of the season. My focus has always been to get on base. If you get on base, good things can happen to you. ' ' '