KEY POINTS:
For proof that it pays to ask, just ask New Zealand's No 1 tennis player, Dan King-Turner.
The 22-year-old was hitting with defending Heineken Open singles champion Jarkko Nieminen late last week and thought he'd pop the question: Did the Finnish leftie have a doubles partner for this week?
"He told me later he was keen, so I was quite fortunate," King-Turner said yesterday. "I'm looking forward to learning a few things from him."
The pair have drawn New Zealand wildcard pair, twins Oliver and Rubin Statham, tomorrow.
King-Turner also struck it lucky with his wildcard into the singles, which starts today.
As the sole New Zealander to get a free pass into the main draw, King-Turner could potentially have been paired with world No 7 Tommy Robredo, the Open's top seeded Spaniard. Instead, he plays tomorrow against one of four qualifiers, to be finalised today.
"He'll have played three [qualifying] matches now so he's going to be used to the conditions with the wind," King-Turner said.
"My preparation has been good so I'm really looking forward to the challenge."
King-Turner, ranked No 458, won his first Futures circuit titles last year, a singles win at the English outpost Frinton-on-Sea and a doubles event in Ramat, Israel, last month.
Originally from Nelson, King-Turner is Auckland-based when in New Zealand. He has made big strides and is eyeing a spot around No 300 by the end of this year.
In the Open last year, King-Turner was beaten in the first round by German Florian Mayer.
Having seen how the crowd got behind New Zealand's leading woman, Marina Erakovic, during the ASB Classic last week, King-Turner is relishing the idea of again appearing before an appreciative home audience.
"A lot of time when I travel overseas I don't have a lot of support.When I played here last year it was great to have the crowd behind you."
