KEY POINTS:
It was a depressingly familiar scene at Stanley St last night, as Rubin Statham, New Zealand's last singles hope, was wiped off centre court at the Heineken Open.
Statham, the country's top-ranked player, battled hard against American journeyman Robby Ginepri but was comfortably beaten 6-2, 6-3 in 1hr 14 mins.
Statham's defeat, along with the departure of fellow main-draw wildcard Dan King-Turner earlier in the day, meant the seven-man Kiwi contingent at the tournament managed just a solitary victory among them - to GD Jones in first-round qualifying.
The first set was one-way traffic, with Statham not seeing a single break point on Ginepri's serve and being broken in the fourth and eighth games himself.
The Kiwi's biggest weakness was a limp second serve. His first serves occasionally touched an impressive 200km/h on the speed gun but his second effort often dipped to 113km/h. Ginepri simply had his way with such a weak offering and took out the first set in just 25 minutes.
The second set was a more evenly contested affair, with Statham going up a break in the fifth game to raise the prospect of a third set.
Ginepri, however, had simply been in cruise mode and he quickly increased his effort to break Statham's next two service games and close out the match.
If there was an air of inevitability about Statham's defeat in the late match, King-Turner's certainly followed a similar script against Sam Querrey.
The Kiwi No 2 acknowledged before his match that he would need to serve well to have a chance. Those words proved prophetic, with his anaemic 38 per cent first-serve success rate contributing to his downfall.
"I haven't served that poorly for a long time," King-Turner said. "My game is obviously based around my serve and when I am not serving well I make it hard for myself."
Problems with his ball toss and a rushed approach to his second serve led to nine-double faults, many of which came at crucial times.
"I was trying to get a few free points and when I wasn't making first serves I was trying even harder to get free points. Maybe that's what I've got to take out of it, that I need to slow it down and work my way into it.
"My game plan was to mix it up, to serve-volley and come forward," he said. "But when you are playing off a second serve it is pretty tough to serve-volley."
King-Turner's wildcard entry into the tournament's main draw had been the subject of plenty of debate and a performance that was competitive without ever threatening a victory will have done little to settle the argument about his presence.
"I lost, so I don't know if I justified it or not. I played close to him. It wasn't embarrassing or anything. Obviously I am very appreciative to get the opportunity to play in a tournament like this because for the rest of the year I probably won't get another ATP main draw unless I qualify."
He said his goal was to break into the top 200 this year, but on the evidence of yesterday's performance that appears some way off.
Querrey was nowhere near his best but the tall American always had the weapons to subdue King-Turner.
"I don't think [King-Turner] played to his absolute best. He sprayed a couple of balls and he could have served a little better. But he was tough. Hopefully he can keep getting chances like this," the American said. "The more tour events he plays the more confidence he'll have and eventually, he's good enough to break into the top 100."
Kiwi tennis fans have heard those sentiments before. The evidence of yesterday suggests our best male players are a long way off the elevated status.
