Tennis: Davis Cup wilderness beckons yet again

Twelve more months.

That's the potted story for New Zealand's vanquished Davis Cup team, who were yesterday condemned to another year among the also-rans after losing their Asia/Oceania Group 2 final against Korea.

Trailing 2-1 before yesterday's reverse singles, New Zealand failed to produce the necessary miracle at the North Shore Tennis Park; Mark Nielsen losing 6-2, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3 to Korean No 1 Hyung-Taik Lee, before Rubin Statham beat Sun Yong Kim 6-4, 6-4 in the dead rubber.

It was a sobering result for a New Zealand team that had dared to dream of the improbable, the 3-2 margin underlying both the strength required for Group 1 competition, and the improvement needed within their own ranks.

The Kiwis now face another season playing against the might of Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pacific Oceania, and - among others, Lebanon.

However Nielsen, who battled courageously against World No 105 Lee during an epic second set, refused to beat up either himself or the team after the loss, preferring to look ahead to another opportunity next year.

"The great thing about our team now is that it's getting stronger, which is the reverse of what it was doing over the past four years," he said. "I believe that we can get back. If we play well next year we'll probably meet Indonesia in the final, and they're a team that I think we can beat."

Beaten 6-2 by a hobbling Lee in yesterday's first set, Nielsen found some of his best form during the second, coming back from a break down to force a tiebreaker and some of the best rallies of the weekend.

Unlucky in the extreme, he was eventually beaten 10-8 after Lee picked up two crucial points through net cords, the second when the tiebreaker was locked at 8-8 and the 900-strong crowd were on the edge of their seats.

Lee took full control after the close-call, needing only 26 minutes to brush aside the New Zealander in the third set and - to the delight of his team-mates, cement Korea's place in Group 1 with a rubber still to be played.

"Things just didn't go my way today," Nielsen said. "I played some really good tennis in the second set, I attacked strongly in the tie-breaker and came up with a lot of good shots at the right time.

"But he had those two lucky net cords that popped over my racquet each time - that decided the set."

Gutted over the cruel twists, Nielsen nevertheless heaped praise on Lee, who seemed to have time up his sleeve and a wide range of shot-options, despite an apparent injury to his left leg.

"He's just a class player with a lot of shots out there; there's so much he can do," said Nielsen. "You've got to be ready for everything, and it took a while for me to get used to that this morning."

He said despite the loss, the experience was a valuable one for the New Zealand team in that it helped clarify where the side needed to improve if it was to compete against stronger opponents in Group 1.

"We need a solid No 2, we need a couple of guys who can play really good doubles, and we've got 12 months to get it right," he said.

"But if we keep working hard at it I'm confident that we'll have every chance of qualifying next year."

The only bright spot for the home side yesterday was provided by the 18-year old Statham, who won the dead rubber after breaking his opponent's serve in the fifth game of the first set, and the ninth game of the second.