Tennis: Lebanon sweep earns captain's praise

New Zealand captain James Greenhalgh says he couldn't have asked any more from his team during their clean sweep over Lebanon in their opening Davis Cup clash.

New Zealand opened their campaign with a 5-0 win over Lebanon at Albany's More FM Tennis Park.

They will now travel to either Kazakhstan or Kuwait for the next round in early April.

New Zealand, who had been expected to have few problems getting past Lebanon in the Asia Oceania Zone Two first-round tie, took an unassailable 3-0 lead after the doubles match on Saturday.

As a result, top player Mark Nielsen was rested for yesterday's reverse singles, which New Zealand also won, giving them a 5-0 sweep. Rubin Statham beat Wahib Maknieh, the Lebanese No 3, 6-4 6-3, while Dan King-Turner downed Karim Alayli 6-3 6-4 in the battle of the No 2s.

None of the New Zealand players dropped their serve in 13 sets of tennis over three days.

"All the things I wanted to achieve, the things we set out to do, we achieved," Greenhalgh said.

"They have taken it one step further with such a convincing win."

The result maintains the New Zealand side's unbeaten run against Lebanon, the team having also prevailed in 1957 and 1998.

"We couldn't ask for anything more ... to come up with five matches in a row without dropping a set or dropping a serve.

"It is a pretty fantastic effort," Greenhalgh said. "This isn't the end, it is the start. We have created a good team environment and had great preparation which we'll look to continue for the next tie," he said.

New Zealand played against both Kazakhstan and Kuwait in Auckland last year, beating Kazakhstan 4-1 and Kuwait 3-2.

"They are two totally different countries to play against," Greenhalgh said. "Kuwait have two good players; the Kazakhstan team have one really good player and one weaker player."

The New Zealand players will return to their own playing schedules before regrouping a week before their next tie.

"It is imperative that we have a week together before the Davis Cup week to continue our good preparation.

"As we come closer to the tie we'll try and pick a country to meet in a week earlier and play a tournament that is well suited to the Davis Cup environment," Greenhalgh said.