Tennis: ASB Classic - Michael Venus falls short to Tennys Sandgren in opening round

Michael Venus of New Zealand. Photo / Getty

Kiwi hope Michael Venus has fallen in the first round of the ASB Classic, but not without a decent fight.

The wildcard had his moments, but went down 6-4 6-3 to defending champion Tennys Sandgren in 70 minutes on Monday.

Given Venus is unranked in singles, and hadn't played a competitive match in the solo format for a year and a half, it was a worthy contest and justified the punt that tournament director Karl Budge took in opting for Venus.

But Sandgren picked up from his imperious form last year, sending down 15 aces.
One 214km/h ace in the final game seemed to fly clean through Venus's racket, such was the power.

Venus had some opportunities against the world No 68, with a break in the first set and two break chances in the second, but Sandgren looked generally looked more comfortable.

At this level, it's all about repetition and precision, and Venus hadn't had that luxury.
It was Venus' first singles match for a staggering 485 days, since a Davis Cup tie with Korea in September 2018.

He hadn't won a tour-level singles match in more than 1000 days, in a Davis Cup against the same opponents in April 2017.

Despite that, the first set was a competitive affair.

Sandgren relied on his booming serve – which was a big part of his run to the title last year, while Venus also has a major weapon in that area.

But the Kiwi was under pressure in his second service game, saving one break point before double-faulting on the next.

He responded well, breaking back in the next game after a strong return forced an error from the Tennessee native.

Games then went with serve, until 4-5, with Venus' radar, unfortunately, went astray.

A wild forehand gave Sandgren a set point at 30-40, and the 28-year-old converted in the next rally, after Venus screwed a crosscourt backhand wide.

The Venus serve wasn't firing, he only landed 51 per cent of his first attempts, while Sandgren was more solid, sending down seven aces as he only lost four points on his first serve across the set.

Venus missed two early break opportunities in the second set, before Sandgren got himself out of trouble with a 205km/h ace.

That was his chance, as Sandgren was ruthless from there.

In the fourth game the American won four straight points – from 15-40 down – to gain an opening in the second set that he was never going to relinquish.

Venus never stopped fighting, but the margins for error at this level are slight, and the disparity proved too much.