Tennis: All set for the grand finale

Dan King-Turner

It might have been the chill in the North Harbour Tennis Park yesterday but there was an air of inevitability about New Zealand's comfortable 3-0 win over Kuwait.

In a relatively low-key doubles match played in front of about 300 spectators, the Kiwi combination of Mark Nielsen and Dan King-Turner had too much firepower for their Kuwati opponents Mohammed al-Ghareeb and Mohamed-Khaliq Siddiq, winning 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes.

It now means that even before today's dead rubbers in the reverse singles, non-playing captain Bruce Derlin can already turn his attention to September's Asia/Oceania Group 2 final against likely opponents Korea.

While New Zealand were always expected to be too classy for Kuwait, and Kazakhstan before them, Korea will be a different proposition. Their No 1, Hyung-Taik Lee, is ranked 76 in the world.

In comparison, Nielsen is ranked 414 in the world but there is no guarantee Lee will play because of differences he has had with the the Korean tennis federation, which has seen him opt out of playing for his country this year.

"It will be interesting to see who they nominate in the team because they've had problems with players in the past but we're expecting a full-strength team," Derlin said yesterday of the tie that will be played in New Zealand starting on September 23. "It will be a big match and we think we've got a good chance."

There was little pressure on the Kiwis yesterday after they took out both singles matches on Friday and were rarely in danger - in fact, there was more danger for the linesmen who were struck by a handful of fearsome serves.

After New Zealand raced out to a handy 4-1 lead in the first set, the Kuwaitis fought back, forcing the match into a first set tiebreaker before succumbing 7-4. But that was about as tight as the match got as Nielsen and King-Turner went about their work clinically and efficiently, breaking the Kuwaitis early in the last two sets.

King-Turner settled into his work well on his Davis Cup debut after a nervous opening set when he stabbed back too many volleys, while the impassive Nielsen was clearly the best player on court.

"I felt pretty comfortable and I thought we were always in front of these guys," Nielsen said.

King-Turner and Adam Thompson, making his Davis Cup debut, will play in today's reverse singles.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY