2015 Davis Cup: Statham, Venus, Daniell And Sitak To Represent New Zealand Against India
New Zealand has named the team that will represent the country in the second round of the 2015 Davis Cup. The team features Jose “Rubin” Statham, Michael Venus, Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak.
“All four players have had significant results over the past few months since they beat China in their last Davis Cup clash in March,” a statement posted on Tennis New Zealand’s official website reads. Statham reportedly improved his ranking back to 342 after scoring a victory at a Futures event. Venus, on the other hand, won his first Association of Tennis Professionals title with Mate Pavic at a doubles event in Nice. As for Sitak and Daniel, both players continue to do well in doubles event and currently ranked 42 and 78, respecntively.
According to New Zealand Davis Cup team captain Alistair Hunt, he is “pleased” to have a strong team to play against a tough match against India, which is reportedly likely to be represented by 157th-ranked Yuki Bhambri and 173rd-ranked Somdev Devvarman in addition to highly-ranked doubles player Rohan Bopanna (World No. 18) and Leander Paes (World No. 23).
Hunt added that he hopes that the players will earn respect from the general public since they represent the nation and compete with the best tennis players in the world. He also hopes that the New Zealanders will come and watch the matches not only to support the team but also to witness great tennis.
The tie against India will be held in Z Energy Wilding Park Tennis Centre in Christchurch from July 17 to 19, 2015. Two singles matches are scheduled on July 17, while one doubles match is set to take place on July 18. On the third day, two more singles matches are slated to happen. The winner of the tie will get the opportunity to play in the World Group Playoffs against potential opponents such as USA, Germany, and Switzerland, and Czech Republic in September.
New Zealand trails India 4-3 in their overall head-to-head record in Davis Cup clashes. They lost it the last four meetings with India.
New Zealand has advanced after beating China in the first round tie that took place from March 6 to 8, 2015. New Zealand won two out of the first three rubbers that all went to five sets, with Statham sealing the victory against Li Zhe. New Zealand’s best Davis Cup performance came in 1982 when they reached the World Group semifinals.
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