I am one of the few guys from our team who has been to Chinese Taipei but I have to say I wasn’t here long. I lost in the first round of a Challenger here last November.

I got into Kaohsiung on Sunday night coming over from China where I made the semis in a Challenger.

It was good preparation for this and following on from a pleasing summer in Australia. 

I feel like I am playing quite well at the moment.

I have actually played their number one player, Lu, losing to him on indoor hard court in Memphis early last year. That was probably his best surface while I think I am playing much better now. Having said that, he can beat most guys on his day. But if I am playing well I am confident.

It is great to be back among the Aussie boys and having a bit of fun. It’s just a good laugh. And for me, I just get such a buzz every time I come to a Davis Cup tie.

Someone put it to me that I am becoming one of the senior members of the team. I would like to nail down that second singles spot. It is a never ending battle between Looch [Peter Luczak] and I.

We also have a bit of competition from the boys coming through, Alun Jones is playing well and Joe Sirianni has really come through in recent months.

Joe is the new guy on the block, he’s had an unbelievable summer and totally earned the spot, I am really happy for him.

To play for your country, there is no bigger deal than that, and to see a guy who is thirty-plus get in the squad for the first time and be so excited it is great.

There is a huge amount of motivation going into this weekend. We have to win. We want to get back into that World Group and this is the first step, simple as that.