The pressure will be on Adam Thompson when he steps on court in Almaty this afternoon to open New Zealand's Asia-Oceania Davis Cup tie against Kazakhstan.
In Mark Nielsen's absence, Thompson has been handed the second singles berth and will meet Kazak No 1 Alexey Kedriouk first up (at 4pm NZ time). Thompson, 23, who has yet to play a Davis Cup match, goes in with an ATP ranking of 809. His opponent is ranked around 370.
Thompson will be followed on court by Dan King-Turner, who has been named New Zealand's No 1. King-Turner, ranked 549, will play Dmitri Makeev, who is ranked 930.
Non-playing captain James Greenhalgh has named King-Turner and recalled veteran Alistair Hunt for tomorrow's doubles. They are scheduled to play Kedriouk and Makeev.
It has been very much horses-for-courses selections for Greenhalgh, who has overlooked Rubin Statham at this stage.
The captain said Thompson was playing very well and the court in Almaty suited to his game.
"It is basically painted concrete. It has a sheen to it. The ball keeps low and shoots through."
The winner of the tie in Kazakhstan will play the winner of this weekend's clash between Indonesia and Hong Kong in Indonesia.
Tennis: Thompson on court today
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