Tennis: In-form Hunt hero of day in Davis Cup

Alistair Hunt was the first-day hero for New Zealand in the Davis Cup tennis tie against Uzbekistan in Invercargill last night.

The 28-year-old, playing at No 2 for New Zealand, produced a top effort to keep the Asia-Oceania tie level at one match apiece going into the doubles today.

Hunt made a mockery of his ATP singles ranking of 1228 as he defeated Uzbek No 1 Oleg Ogorodov, ranked 213th, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Hunt's play looked as though he was in the prime of his tennis, not the winding down of his singles career.

Ogorodov used a quick-fire serve to open the match with a love game, but some inspired volleying from Hunt eventually proved to be the winning of the match.

It was probably the best match he had played in New Zealand in Davis Cup, and it thrilled a big crowd at Stadium Southland.

"I basically made just one error, in the first set at 3-2 in the tiebreak, but that was it," Hunt said.

"In the end it was a good win.

"Davis Cup seems to bring out the best in me. I find I look forward to it and all the training.

"If James Greenhalgh and I combine well and back each other up, the doubles could be a pivotal match for the tie. I'm looking forward to it."

Hunt does not want the tie to be his last. He had thoughts about ending his Davis Cup career this year, but now wants to continue for at least another couple of years, probably as a doubles specialist with Greenhalgh.

"I've found that I'm really enjoying my tennis now," he said.

"I did have a few personal things that dragged me down for a little while and it became a strain on the whole thing.

"That's all sort of taken care of, so I'm a lot more happy with things."

Hunt first played for New Zealand in 1995 and is no longer a fulltime touring professional. Greenhalgh is also semi-retired.

In the opening singles, Uzbekistan No 2 Vadim Kutsenko proved too strong for New Zealand No 1 Mark Nielsen in four sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.

Nielsen had plenty of opportunities in the first set as both players traded service breaks with no one gaining the upper hand until Kutsenko won the last three points of the tiebreak from 4-4 for a 7-4 win.

The second set saw Kutsenko settle into a rhythm and easily run out the winner.

In the third set, Nielsen held off three break and match points on his serve in the 12th game to take the set to a tiebreak, which he won seven points to five.

Nielsen, aged 23, tried to play a net game as often as possible, but was trapped in the mid-court many times by the good returning of Kutsenko.

The Uzbek, who has a ATP singles ranking of 226 compared with Nielsen's 285, kept a cool head as the New Zealander picked up the intensity in the third and fourth sets.

The doubles match starts at 1 pm today.

If New Zealand win the rubber they will play off for a place in the elite top-16 world group in September and that is a tasty prospect for the Kiwi battlers.

New Zealand have not played in the world group since 1991.

- NZPA