Top Kiwi Men Keep Local Hopes Alive

New Zealand’s top two men’s players had straight set wins into the second round of the Futures tennis tournament in Wellington but several other Kiwis struggled to finish off their matches when they had the advantage in a match..

 

Both Rubin Statham and Dan King-Turner moved past the first round of the US$15,000 ASB Pro Circuit men’s draw, with Statham beating fellow Kiwi Adam Thompson 6-3 6-4 and King-Turner accounting for Solomon Islands player Michael Leong 6-3 6-1.

 

King-Turner takes on Australian eighth seed Rameez Junaid, a player who won week one of the series at North Harbour but was beaten by King-Turner in week two in Hamilton in the quarterfinals.

 

Statham plays Japan’s Yuichi Ito for a place in the quarterfinals.

 

Sixteen-year-old Kiwi Katherine Westbury will have a good test against Indonesian Ayu-Fani Damayanti who won the title in Hamilton in the second round.

 

National champ Di Hollands led fifth seed Kyung-Yee Chae(Korea) 3-0 in the first set but lost 6-4 7-5 in the US$10,000 women’s draw with Kairangi Vano losing her match in a third set tiebreak. Another player with potential, Christchurch’s 15-year-old Leela Beattie had her chances to finish off WTA ranked American, Sabrina Capannolo after winning the first set 7-5 the Kiwi lacked the experienced to complete the match dropping the next two sets 7-6 6-1.

 

Also going down was Oliver Statham who won the first set but lost the next two against American Kaes Van’t Hof. Marcus Daniell lost to top-200 player and No1 seed Carsten Ball 6-3 7-6 and Canterbury’s Logan MacKenzie went down in straight sets to Australian Andrew Thomas.

 

Some success came in doubles where Daniell and Australian partner, Joel Lindner progressed to the semifinals as did King-Turner and GD Jones who beat Thompson and Australian Stephen Bass in straight sets.

 

In women’s doubles the Kiwi and Australian duo of Hollands and Hubacek also made the semis with a straight set win over third seeded Australians Alison Bai and Renee Binnie.

 

 

 

 

 

(Q) Sabrinna Capannolo bt (WC)Leela Beattie

 

ASB Pro Circuit US$10,000 singles women’s first round:

So-Jung Kim(Korea) bt (3)Noppawan Lertcheewakarn(Thailand) 6-3 6-3, (5)Kyung-Yee Chae(Korea) bt (WC)Di Hollands(New Zealand) 6-4 7-5, Alenka Hubacek(Australia) bt (WC)Kairangi Vano(New Zealand) 7-5 2-6 7-6(5), (Q)Lizaan Du Plessis(South Africa) bt Ai Yamamoto(Japan) 6-1 6-4, Zi-Jung Yang(Hong Kong) bt (Q)Nungnadda Wannasuk(Thailand) 6-2 6-2, (2)Montinee Tangphong(Thailand) bt Etsuko Kitazaki(Japan) 6-3 6-3, Hae-Sung Kim(Korea) bt Jung-Yoon Shin(Korea) 7-6(2) 6-3,

ASB Pro Circuit US$15,000 men’s singles first round:

(7)Rubin Statham(New Zealand) bt (WC)Adam Thompson(New Zealand) 6-3 6-4, (Q)Andrew Thomas(Australia) bt (WC)Logan MacKenzie(New Zealand)

 

Men’s doubles quarterfinals:

Marcus Daniell(New Zealand)/Joel Lindner(Australia) bt David Bidmeade/Josh Crowe 6-3 7-6(8), (2)Dan King-Turner/GD Jones(New Zealand) bt Adam Thompson(New Zealand)/Stephen Bass(Australia) 6-3 6-3

 

Women’s doubles quarterfinals:

Di Hollands(New Zealand)/Alenka Hubacek(Australia) bt (3)Alison Bai/Renee Binnie(Australia) 6-2 6-3.