The New Zealand Davis Cup team have had a tough start to their Asia/Oceania Group I relegation playoff tie against Taiwan in Taipei.
Dan King-Turner, who went into the match with a ranking of 357, went down in the first singles 6-4 0-6 3-6 6-7 to 236th-ranked Tsung-Hua Yang.
In the second singles Michael Venus was expected to face 201st-ranked Ti Chen, however the Tapei player has been substituted by his team captain and Venus will now play Lian-Chi Huang, ranked at 353.
In the doubles, New Zealand captain Marcel Vos has named Rubin Statham and Artem Sitak as his combination to face Liang-Chi Huang and doubles specialist Cheng-Peng Hsieh, although players can be changed up to an hour prior to the scheduled start time.
The reverse singles is set to be played on Sunday.
New Zealand has a 3-0 overall record against Taiwan in Davis Cup. The loser of this tie will play Lebanon in the first round of Asia/Oceania Zone Group II in 2013, while the winner will await the outcome of the draw for next year's Asia/Oceania Zone Group I.