Tennis: An ace in the pack

Marcus Daniell. Photo / Dean Purcell

When Marcus Daniell became the first New Zealander to win an ATP tour title since 1999 when he won the Heineken Open doubles tournament as a wildcard, some hoped it would usher in an era of success for Kiwi tennis players. It didn't.

The most notable accomplishment was the New Zealand men's Davis Cup side defying expectations to gain promotion to Asia/Oceania group I.

Other achievements have been slim, as the country's top women's players continue to be beset by injury and illness - Ellen Barry retired at the age of just 21 - and two of our top men stagnated.

But there is every reason to be hopeful about the future. There have been many false dawns in New Zealand tennis but there is quiet optimism this country might be about to have two men's players competitive on the world scene.

One is ranked in the 300s in the world and the other hasn't even turned professional yet - but Michael Venus and Austen Childs have the potential of maybe even breaking into the top 100.

It might not sound overly impressive but, given it has been nearly 15 years since a New Zealand male has occupied a place in the world's top 100, it shouldn't be under-estimated.

Venus started the year ranked 586 but is now 319, briefly overtaking Dan King-Turner as New Zealand's highest-ranked player. He achieved that only 18 months after joining the tour.

He won a futures tournament in the US in June and became the first Kiwi since Brett Steven in 1999 to play in a challenger final when he was beaten in Uzbekistan in August.

The 23-year-old Venus has good pedigree. He won the 2008 All-American championships while at Louisiana State University and was one of six college players to represent the US at the International University Challenge later that year.

Childs, 21, is in the final year of college at Louisville and is expected to turn professional in May. He reached the final of a NCAA tournament, won a pressure fifth match of the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan in July and has already beaten players inside the top 500.

"Both have had successful college careers and that has helped them mature," says New Zealand Davis and Fed Cup captain Marcel Vos. "It takes three to four years to understand what it takes on the circuit and Michael has been doing it for 18 months. He could be within the top 150 in the next 12 months.

"Austen has shown real potential. If he makes the right choices and keeps developing then I can't see any reason why he can't be successful."

Outside of these two, however, New Zealand's players have stagnated or regressed. King-Turner had a decent start to the year, winning a futures tournament in February and reaching the semifinals of a challenger event in Spain in July but he has not won a first-round match since July. He started the year at 257, peaked at a career-high 217 in July but has since slipped to 313.

Rubin Statham has done little of note all year - he beat King-Turner in the first round of the Heineken Open - and has seen his ranking drop from 331 to 454.

Vos says the next 12 months will be pivotal in their careers if they are ever to 'make it'.

"Both are getting on a bit and been out there a few years," he says. "The next year or two are going to be really important for them. They will need to be very persistent, keep looking in the mirror and be honest with themselves. "

Both Sacha Jones and Marina Erakovic have had difficult years because of injury and illness. Jones started the year at 213, jumping to a career-high 157 in April but has dipped to 289 as she battled shoulder and hand injuries.

She won a $25,000 ITF tournament in Australia in September, the sixth in her career, but her recent appearance at the $25,000 Wellington challenger tournament, when she was a first-round casualty, was just her 10th of the year.

Erakovic played some of the year with her injury-protected ranking in the top 100 but enjoyed little success as injuries and illness continued to plague her. She was ranked as low as 748 in April but is now 323 in the world and will have to effectively start all over again if she is to return the world's top 50.

"It will be frustrating for Marina to play lower level tournaments," Vos says, "but it's about playing matches and building confidence and then she will know she's capable of beating top players.

"Both Marina and Sacha are capable of getting into the world's top 100 and it would be a huge achievement for a country the size of New Zealand to do that."