Tennis: Downs shows loss to NZ tennis

Steven Downs might be playing tennis for fun but he still plays to win, as he showed last night at the Auckland Tennis Championships.

His straight sets 6-2 6-2 win over Lee Radovanovich showed what a great loss the former world junior doubles number one is to tennis in this country.

Downs' courtcraft was too much for his younger opponent who could not match the power from the former Kiwi Davis Cup player. Downs, aged 24, had an ATP Tour singles ranking of 279 at age 20 but gave up what could have been a potentially fruitful career a couple of years ago after a hip injury, bad luck and bad form.

"I never stopped playing tennis. I'm just playing now for the enjoyment," he said.

Radovanovich, aged 17, has plenty more opportunities this summer with the Residential Championships, the New Zealand 18s and perhaps a wildcard into either the qualifying or the main draw of the Heineken Open as well as the Australian Open Juniors.

He will have to overcome his high error rate which held him back in the blustery conditions last night. While Downs came in behind every short ball and served some big aces, Radovanovich was more hesitant and stayed back too often.

Top women's seed and Kiwi number one Leanne Baker produced a good second set after looking a little shaky in the first to defeat defending champion Niki Tippins of Canterbury 6-4 6-1. Baker pulled out her big shots in the second set to force Tippins into numerous mistakes.

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Davis Cup places are up for grabs in the Residential Tennis Championships starting at the North Harbour Tennis Centre today.

New Davis Cup coach Glen Wilson is scouting for talent with a view to the tie against Thailand in Timaru in February.

"We are all aware of how few players we have on the tour in terms of rankings. I'm definitely looking for someone to step up for the team," he said.

A key player in the draw is 19-year-old James Shortall, who has an ATP Tour doubles ranking. At 6ft 6in (1.95m) he has a big serve, a big reputation and big potential. He is the fourth seed in the men's singles.

The top seed is Mark Nielsen, the New Zealand No 1 and ranked 255 on the ATP Tour.

The defending champion, looking for his third title since 1995, returned a few days ago from Perth where he was a singles and doubles quarterfinalist in a $US25,000 challenger event.

The women's draw features New Zealand's top four players, who have the added incentive of a second wildcard into the ASB Bank Classic.

The top seed, Auckland champion Baker, has been guaranteed a wildcard. The big battle for the other one will be between Shelley Stephens and Rewa Hudson.

The tournament runs until Sunday.

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The winner of the Residentials will get a wildcard entry into the Gallagher International, a $US25,000 ATP Tour Challenger to be held at the Waikato Tennis Centre in March.

It will be New Zealand's second-largest men's professional tennis tournament, complementing January's Heineken Open. The event will be part of an Asian ATP Challenger circuit, and is the first time in five years that an ATP Challenger has been played in New Zealand.