KEY POINTS:
Simon Rea will fill the No 2 singles position for New Zealand in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group one tennis tie against Pacific Oceania in Dunedin.
Non-playing captain James Greenhalgh made his choice yesterday, naming the 24-year-old to play Pacific Oceania No 1 Michael Leong of the Solomon Islands today.
Their clash follows the opening match between New Zealand No 1 Dan King-Turner and Marshall Islander West Nott.
King-Turner and Rea have also been selected for the doubles tomorrow against Leong and Juan Langton of Samoa, although the combinations can be changed.
Rea played Davis Cup for New Zealand in 2004 before opting to complete his studies in the United States.
He returned to the professional circuit late last year, reaching a quarter-final and semifinal at Futures events in Asia.
Rea was then struck down by a variety of arm injuries, which the tall left-hander is confident are now behind him.
"I'm going into the tie 100 per cent and feel I'm fit and healthy," he said.
"I'm a little nervous as all you want to do is get on the court. There are some butterflies, which are a good thing. I'd be worried if I did not have them."
Jeff Race, Pacific Oceania's non-playing captain is hoping for a major turnup in the form book for his team.
"Every team we played in the past couple of years has had players with ATP rankings. We don't have any at all," Race said.
"Every year we have been labelled the underdogs.
"We hope to pull off an upset this weekend."
The two sides have never played each other before.
The other players in the New Zealand team are Rubin Statham and Adam Thompson.
- NZPA
