Tennis: Davis Cup team full of promise

Michael Venus. Photo / Jason Oxenham

It feels as if the New Zealand Davis Cup team are on the verge of a significant breakthrough.

That might be a strange statement, given team spearhead Michael Venus has played only four singles matches in almost two months, Rubin Statham carries a singles ranking of 497, and the opposition have a top-200 player.

But with this team - facing China today at the ASB tennis centre - it's a case of more than meets the eye.

Venus is coming off the biggest result of his career, when he won his first-round match at the Heineken Open in January, and his singles inactivity has been counter-balanced by strong doubles form, including third-round finishes at his past two Grand Slams. Statham will step out for his 32nd Davis Cup match today and has made an encouraging comeback after 2014 was blighted by injury.

Meanwhile doubles combination Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell have enjoyed a stellar 12 months, culminating in their recent ATP title in Montpellier, the first by a Kiwi duo in more than 30 years.

"This is probably the best Davis Cup squad I have been in," said Venus. "Confidence levels are very good, there is a lot of self belief. We know we have a chance at a good year."

"In terms of results they are miles ahead of where they were," said captain Alistair Hunt.

"At the moment we have four guys who can do all four roles ... that hasn't been the case for a long time."

If they prevail against China, New Zealand would host India. The winner of that tie would have a shot at one of the big guns, in the World Group promotion-relegation playoffs.

"There are opportunities but we have to take the first steps," said Venus. "That starts [today]."

Since he made history at the Heineken Open, Venus has kept his focus on ATP-level doubles events, meaning his singles opportunities are rare.

"At that level when you play qualifying it's a pretty high level," said Venus. "You could get a few more matches in Challengers but I feel like my singles is constantly improving - I'm playing better that when I had my highest ranking."

Sitak and Daniell give New Zealand potentially their best doubles pairing since Brett Steven and James Greenhalgh, and it also means Venus and Statham can focus on singles.

China won't be easy. Zhe Zhang has been ranked as high as No 148 and pushed Lleyton Hewitt at this year's Australian Open while No 2 Di Wu defeated both Statham and Venus when China beat NZ 3-1 last year.

"Zhang hits a big ball and Di Wu is a good mover with great timing," said Hunt. "We know them well. We hope to have the edge in the doubles and the singles will be a battle."

New Zealand have a 5-2 head-to-head record over China, but have lost the past two ties. The action starts at 3pm today, with the doubles match at 3pm tomorrow. The reverse singles begins at 11am on Sunday.