Kelly Evernden in action at the 1993 New Zealand Open. Photo / Photosport
Kelly Evernden in action at the 1993 New Zealand Open. Photo / Photosport
New Davis Cup tennis captain Kelly Evernden is keen to stamp his mark on this weekend's World Group 1 Playoff tie against Uruguay in Las Vegas.
It's a home tie for New Zealand who have been forced to stage this tie and last September's tie against South Korea in theUnited States due to our closed borders.
While Seattle-based Evernden has stopped short of saying it's a winnable tie for New Zealand, he's acknowledged their chances have improved with Uruguay's second-ranked singles player Martin Cuevas ruled out after a positive Covid-19 test.
It means 23-year-old Ignacio Carou, ranked 698 in the world, has been thrust into the opening singles rubber against New Zealand's No 1, veteran Rubin Statham.
"The first thing is it's a drop-down in talent from the guy that is out so I mean, for us that's a bonus, but he's also young and keen like our guys are so he's trying to prove himself, so we'll see," Evernden said.
Statham says he's in much better shape than when he last represented New Zealand in September against South Korea in Newport.
"Yeah, definitely, the preparation for the last tie wasn't fantastic with the lockdowns in New Zealand. It was a little bit of a rush to get over there with no matches. But this year I am out on Tour again and getting a lot of matches and some good wins. So, it's completely different," Statham said.
The first rubber is vital for New Zealand, with rookie Ajeet Rai up against Uruguay's No 1 Pablo Cuevas in the second match. Cuevas, 36, has slipped to 106 in the ATP rankings, but has been ranked as high as 19 and has beaten the likes of Rafael Nadal.
But Evernden has questioned the veteran Uruguayan's fitness and motivation.
"Ajeet's got to embrace the fact he's playing for his country. He's up against somebody who's beaten some really big players but he [Cuevas] is a little bit injured I've heard and a little bit unmotivated to keep playing on tour. That's the kind of setup you want.
"If you have a young guy coming in he's really keen to go out there and play hard and put them under pressure. If Ajeet can get out there and really do the things that he's been showing this week, we have a real shot at that," Evernden said.
Kelly Evernden (L) at the Davis Cup draw in Las Vegas. Photo / Supplied
Rai can't wait to test himself against a player who has won six ATP titles during a stellar career.
"I'm just excited to be back in the team and I have to go out there and give it my all against a very good player. But I just have to take care of what I can control and go from there," Rai said.
For Evernden, who represented New Zealand for nearly a decade in the Davis Cup between 1985 and 1994, playing 20 ties, this week is what he's dreamed of.
"It's been fun. It's a big departure from what I've been doing for the last 20 years, but it's good to be involved with these guys trying to do something that I love doing.
"You see the passion and see the work, you see the heart they bring to what they're trying to do. It's my favourite event in tennis. I've tried to stay mellow and kind of a little bit controlled this week. But that might change, we'll see."
Michael Venus and Artem Sitak will combine against Ariel Behar and Carou in Sunday's doubles rubber where the Kiwi combination will be warm favourites.
The tie gets under way at 8am on Saturday NZT, with the winner advancing to the World Group 1 qualifiers in September and the loser dropping to World Group 2.
