Tennis: Kiwi with sights on centre court

Marcus Daniell has won his past 10 matches at domestic level. Daniell says the Futures circuit is 'a grind' and the Heineken Open is a big opportunity. Photo / Sarah Ivey

It has been eight years since a New Zealander won a first-round match on centre court at the Heineken Open.

That's not yet the sort of stretch to rival, say, the last time a British man won Wimbledon (Fred Perry in about 1036).

But it is getting to the stage where natural mortality is beginning to whittle down the number of people who can claim to have witnessed Mark Nielsen's triumph over Andreas Vinciguearra in 2002.

Nielsen actually made it that far twice in eight attempts, the other success coming in 1998, but his lengthy career was hardly a staggering success.

In an 11-year sojourn through tennis's backwaters he earned just $225,000. His ranking peaked at 172 before his career was cut short by a two-year suspension for taking a hair loss drug that was taken off the banned list shortly after he was suspended.

The last New Zealand player to really crack the tour was Brett Steven, whose ranking peaked at 32 during an 11-year career during which he pocketed close to $3.4 million.

Steven never threatened to win a Grand Slam, and in fact never even won a title. But his was the sort of career the current crop of wannabe pros can only dream off.

This year's challenge will be headed by the usual suspects of Dan King Turner and Rubin Statham (who have combined 0-6 main draw record in Auckland).

Outside of the country's top two ranked players, local hopes rest on someone making it through qualifying.

New Zealand residential champion Marcus Daniell is one of those trying to make it to centre court via that tortuous route.

Having won his past 10 matches on the domestic scene, including taking out both Statham brothers at a money tournament on the North Shore this week, Daniell is riding a hot streak. He knows Auckland's "qualies" represent a massive chance for someone who spent last year grinding away at Futures level.

His journey took the Masterton-raised 20-year-old to 10 different countries including Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania. Often he went out in the first round, pocketing just $160. His biggest pay day was $1218 for making a final in Israel, while his career earnings have reached $16,000.

He travelled without a coach or support staff and at times even slept on floors or in beds with two other blokes.

"It is a grind," Daniell said. "At this level it is pretty thankless. Everyone out there is so hungry."

He hasn't yet scaled any great heights but Daniell has already plumbed the depths thanks to a lengthy losing run over the first half of last year.

"I played on clay and out of 10 tournaments I only won one first round. I had zero confidence."

That changed when he hooked up with recently appointed New Zealand Davis Cup coach Marcel Vos in Israel. That sparked a run of good results that saw him raise his ranking from 1480 to 766.

"He helped me turn it around but it is still tough in Futures. Nothing gets given to you and it doesn't give you a living."

Daniell pockets some money from domestic tournaments and a Tennis NZ grant but those meagre earnings are supplemented by his parents, who pretty much bankroll his fledgling career.

He is not exactly living the high life.

"I slept on the floor in Korea on a little mat. I was in a single room with two other guys. At one point there were three of us on a bed. It is character building."

But there is, however, only so much character building a man can tolerate. Daniell has given himself two years to make some decent strides. If he hasn't, he'll try his hand at something else.

It will be Daniell's second crack at qualifying. Last year he lost in straight sets to 90th-ranked Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

It's a big ask but it can be done, as GD Jones proved in 2008, winning three matches to book a main draw centre court date with Chilean Nicolas Massu.

If Daniell does emulate Jones, it may well have something to do with his lucky charm, girlfriend Jesse Smith. He hasn't lost a match since she started going along to watch him.