Rubin Statham of New Zealand celebrates his win over Hyeon Chung. Photo / Getty
Rubin Statham of New Zealand celebrates his win over Hyeon Chung. Photo / Getty
Kiwi Rubin Statham has caused the biggest upset in years at the ASB Classic, taking down world No 25 Hyeon Chung in straight sets on Tuesday.
It was an unbelievable display – and a quite incredible result.
Statham came back from 1-5 down in the first set to win 7-5 6-3 in 92 minutes.
It was the ultimate boil over, as Statham, ranked almost 350 places below his opponent, produced the performance of his life.
At times it was almost impossible to comprehend; on one side of the net a player who had been battling away on the Challenger circuit for most of last year, against the man who made a run to the Australian Open semi-finals last year.
And remember Chung had beaten Novak Djokovic in Melbourne, as well as world No 4 Alexander Zverev.
Statham is only the second Kiwi male this decade to beat an overseas opponent in a first round match in Auckland, follwing Michael Venus in 2015.
From a local perspective, it was surely the biggest singles result here for New Zealand tennis since Marina Erakovic, then ranked world No 153, beat second seed and world No 23 Vera Zvonareva in the semi finals of the 2008 WTA event in Auckland.
Rubin Statham of New Zealand celebrates his win over Hyeon Chung. Photo / Getty
To illustrate the significance of his victory, it was only Statham's second career win in an ATP main draw, with the other his defeat of compatriot Dan King-Turner in the first round here in 2010.
The 31-year-old Statham held his nerve at 5-3 in the second set, serving out the match to the joy of a rapturous crowd.
The players balcony was also packed, as players and ATP rushed out to seeing the closing stages of the match, sensing an historic occasion.
In hot afternoon conditions in Auckland, Statham had made a nervous start.
It wasn't a surprise, as he was playing in front of a packed centre court in Auckland for the first time in years and also trying to adjust to the levels of Chung.
He was broken twice and soon found himself down 1-5, and the set looked all but gone. But he recovered to hold serve, then broke the Korean to give him some hope.
A strong hold followed, and suddenly Statham was in the ascendancy.
At 4-5 down there was a brief break in play, as Statham, in the process of diving for a forehand volley, which was successful, jammed his right hand under the racquet and his entire body weight forced it against the ground.
After being taped up, Statham returned to action and broke Chung again, to force two set points.
He converted the second, as the crowd began to sense they were witnessing something special.
The second set was a tense affair, but the Kiwis always looked more confident on serve. A break put him up 5-2, and though Chung held to force Statham to serve out, the 31-year-old held his nerve.
