KEY POINTS:
A gamble from New Zealand non-playing tennis captain James Greenhalgh backfired badly as the hosts were left floundering on the first day of their Davis Cup tie in Auckland today.
The Philippines have taken a commanding 2-0 lead in the Asia-Oceania group two semifinal after producing straight sets victories in the singles today.
It follows Greenhalgh's shock decision to leave New Zealand's top-ranked player Dan King-Turner on the sidelines on day one, a tactic which leaves New Zealand with a massive task to save the match.
Simon Rea was ranked New Zealand No 1 for the tie, with Rubin Statham ranked No 2 in place of King-Turner.
Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino comfortably dispatched Statham and Rea respectively, while King-Turner, easily the highest ranking New Zealander at 430, cooled his heels at the Parnell tennis club.
Mamiit, a former top-80 ranked player beat Statham 6-4 6-4 6-4.
The 30-year-old, currently ranked 194, showed occasional glimpses of what gave him career wins over Andre Agassi and Michael Chang.
It took him just over two hours to dispatch 19-year-old Statham who is ranked 749.
The second singles match had Taino playing with remarkable depth and accuracy throughout the match as he defeated Rea 6-1 6-2 6-4.
After witnessing the carnage, Greenhalgh still defended his decision to play Statham instead of King-Turner.
"Eric played some unbelievable tennis and Mamiit was solid against Rubin. I stick by the decision to play Rubin ahead of Dan.
"Dan now has a chance in the doubles," Greenhalgh said.
"It's disappointing to be 2-nil down at the end of the first day.
"The tie isn't over yet. We have to keep our heads up. I'm not totally disappointed in our performance but at times we were a little outclassed," Greenhalgh said.
New Zealand must win tomorrow's doubles match if they want to win the tie.
King-Turner will team up with Rea, while the Philippines have named their three and four players, Johnny Arcilla and Patrick-John Tierro.
Results:
Cecil Mamiit (Philippines) bt Rubin Statham (New Zealand) 6-4 6-4 6-4, Eric Taino (Philippines) bt Simon Rea (New Zealand) 6-1 6-2 6-4.
- NZPA
