KEY POINTS:
New Zealand Davis Cup tennis captain James Greenhalgh has a feeling not unfamiliar to those who have spent any time sitting on a rocky foreshore.
The cause of his discomfort is the generally held view that his team are considered overwhelming favourites for the Asia Oceania group two
tie against Oman starting in Muscat on Friday.
The depths plumbed by New Zealand tennis in the past decade have left Greenhalgh naturally wary, particularly in this case because he knows next to nothing about his team's opponents.
Three of Fahad-Qamar Al Hashmi, Khalid Al Nabhani, Mohammed Al Nabhani and Suleiman Al Rawahi are due to appear for the host nation, and none of them command an ATP world ranking.
The tie marks a breakthrough of sorts for Oman, who attained regional group two status for the first time last year by winning group three after wins over the likes of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
Greenhalgh had hoped to watch the home team's players training but he said the Oman side had been careful to keep their distance from the New Zealanders.
"There are not a whole lot of results on them and none of them has an ATP ranking," he said.
"I caught a glimpse of them practising once but they've been a bit cagey and are practising at different times to us, so we haven't had a chance to sit down and watch them.
"This is a little bit of the unknown for us. With their team coming up (from group three) there is a possibility they are a little stronger than what their rankings would show."
He has been pleased with how his squad of four - Dan King-Turner, Rubin Statham, GD Jones and Matthew Simpson - have acclimatised and settled into a training routine since arriving in the Middle East last weekend.
Greenhalgh said the performances of some of his players at last month's Heineken Open in Auckland hopefully stood the New Zealand team in good stead.
King-Turner took world No 20 Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela to 7-5 in the third set, Statham had his moments before losing to eighth seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes and Jones became the first New Zealander in 21 years to progress through qualifying at the tournament, before losing to former world No 9 Nicolas Massu, of Chile.
"We have put together one of our strongest teams for the past couple of years," Greenhalgh said.
"The boys have shown good form in the Heineken Open and we will be difficult to beat if they can replicate that sort of performance here."
The New Zealanders are at ease with conditions in Muscat, with temperatures in the low to mid-20s and little humidity.
Greenhalgh is also pleased with the court surface at the outdoor facility being used for the tie.
"We're using a plexipave hardcourt, which is medium to fast speed. It isn't a court we'd pick for ourselves but they've all played on courts like this and it is a fair surface."
The tie is New Zealand's first outing since they lost a group two semifinal 1-4 to the Philippines in Auckland last April.
On that occasion he benched King-Turner from the singles due to concerns over form and fitness, but Greenhalgh has no such worries about the New Zealand No 1 this week.
It was too early for Greenhalgh to hint at his likely lineup for the opening singles on Friday.
"Dan's in good physical shape and he's hitting the ball fine, just like all the other guys.
"We're just trying to prepare everybody and the strongest guy will get their shot."
The winners of this tie will next play the winners this weekend between Kuwait and Pacific Oceania in Kuwait.
Other teams in New Zealand's group are China, Lebanon, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
- NZPA
