Tennis: Kiwi Michael Venus rues his luck with tough ASB Classic doubles scheduling

Michael Venus was left to rue his luck at the ASB Classic. Photo / photosport.nz

When Michael Venus sits down to reflect on this year’s ASB Classic, the Kiwi doubles exponent will curse his luck.

Venus was meant to play outside on Wednesday afternoon, then Thursday morning, but the adverse weather curtailed both matches.

Instead, his first-round contest alongside Jamie Murray was forced inside.

It meant none of the usually patriotic support that Venus thrives on here – and perhaps more importantly – turned the match into more of a lottery on the quicker courts, with shorter rallies and a premium on serves.

It was a thriller – as close as they come, before unseeded Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow prevailed 6-7(2) 6-4 12-10 across 91 minutes.

Venus, a two-time grand slam doubles finalist, looked devastated after the marathon tiebreaker.

He has enjoyed success here, with a title in 2016 and a final in 2019, as well as semifinal appearances (2012 and 2018), and was looking forward to another run, as fourth seeds.

“Playing here, it’s a highlight of the year for me and something that I really look forward to,” said Venus. “Like everyone else we would like to be able to play outside especially with the fans, it is so cool. It is just unfortunate circumstances.”

The 35-year-old, who has 17 doubles titles, wasn’t making any excuses but admitted the transition indoors changed the complexion of the match.

“They’re quite a bit quicker than the outdoors,” said Venus, adding that the Auckland outdoor courts are already some of the fastest they experience all year.

“You can see by a lot of the scorelines and the stats, when someone hits a good service, it’s tough to get in the point,” said Venus. “It’s kind of a one-strike tennis. If you can get a good shot on the ball, whether it’s a serve or a return, it’s suddenly a very high percentage chance you’re going win that point.”

Venus and Murray were left with regrets. They dominated the first set tiebreak, before an early break in the second set left them trying to catch up. They then held a handy 5-1 lead in the super tiebreaker, before some untimely errors, along with clutch points from the Americans.

“Credit to them,” said Venus. “They had some good returns and got themselves back in the tiebreaker. And from there it was tough to get some of the points started.”

But as downcast as he was, Venus was offered instant perspective soon after match point, when his four-year-old daughter Lila approached for a hug.

“You can’t hold on to it too long when they smile,” said Venus. “So for me, it’s really nice to have that side of things where I can actually put the tennis away. Without them there I would probably be thinking about quite a few of those points for the rest of the day.”