New Zealand Davis Cup team confirmed for tough clash

The New Zealand Davis Cup team has been confirmed for one of its toughest clashes for several years.

The team which consists of Rubin Statham, Michael Venus, Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak and non-playing captain Alistair Hunt will take on South Korea in a Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 round one playoff tie against South Korea April 7-9 in Auckland at the ASB Tennis Arena.

Rubin Statham currently has an ATP singles ranking of 392 and reached two Futures finals recently winning one and being a finalist at the other. He is playing in a Futures in Canberra this week. Michael Venus is ranked 40 in doubles and has put in good performance in singles in Auckland in the past. Marcus Daniell is at a career-high doubles ranking of 43 after recently reaching the final of the Sao Paulo tournament and Artem Sitak is 54 in the world in double making three ATP doubles semifinals so far this year.

The South Korean team is likely to be led by 20-year-old Hyeon Chung who is currently ranked 92 in the world with a career high of 51. The Korean number two is Duckhee Lee at 135. However the Korean team are ranked a lot lower in doubles.

New Zealand has strength in Davis Cup doubles and has not lost a Davis Cup doubles match since 2013 against the Philippines in the Philippines which was eight ties ago.

Last year New Zealand lost 1-3 to Korea with snow surrounding the courts in Seoul and are hoping to turn the tables in 2017. Overall New Zealand has a 7-3 head-to-head lead over their rivals.

"Korea are always going to be tough. They have a top 100 ranked player and another guy in the top 150. Last year they beat us in Seoul with snow around the courts. This time weve got home advantage and I hope we can get a crowd along to help out. Its so rare to have our players in New Zealand and perhaps the public dont appreciate that we have three guys in the worlds top 60 doubles players who are highly respected around the world and Rubin is coming off a couple of singles finals. We know the court well in Auckland and I think its going to be a great tie with some top tennis," said New Zealand Davis Cup captain Hunt.

Matches are scheduled for Friday 7 April two singles matches from 11am, Saturday 8 April one doubles match from 2pm and Sunday 9 April reverse singles from 11am.

An added bonus as part of the event and included in the ticket price, is additional entertainment for the whole family on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th April at the ASB Tennis Arena on the back courts. Theres a chance to have fun exploring the giant inflatable, hitting on the Hot Shots red court and testing tennis skills to "beat the pro" with plenty of chances to win prizes for the whole family.

Tickets are now on sale through www.ticketek.co.nz

The New Zealand Davis Cup team is proudly supported by Terrace Downs Resort.

www.tennisnz.com

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from New Zealand Tennis