Tennis: Kiwis hold all the aces

Mark Nielsen on his way to winning yesterday. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

New Zealand have overcame an injury scare and some spirited resistance to grab the early momentum in their Davis Cup group two semifinal against Kuwait.

No 1 Mark Nielsen limped to a hard-fought 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Kuwaiti teenager Abdullah Magdas, and GD Jones ended a successful night for the New Zealanders after fighting back to beat Mohammed Al Ghareeb 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.

The results means New Zealand lead Kuwait 2-0 as they eye today's doubles match and tomorrow's reverse singles.

The only concern for the home side will be a niggling leg injury that threatened to upset Nielsen's belated counter-attack against Magdas, and one that could still force the 27-year-old out of this afternoon's doubles.

Nielsen, widely expected to have the wood on the unknown Magdas, instead found himself a set down and was forced to endure severe cramping and a medical stoppage before winning in four sets.

New Zealand need to beat Kuwait to qualify for the Asia/Oceania group two finals in September, not to mention giving themselves a chance of moving back up into the group one division if they can beat probable finalists Korea.

But that all seemed a distant dream yesterday afternoon when Nielsen faltered in the second set against the sweet timing of Magdas, and was then forced to the sideline for medical treatment while leading 2-0 in the fourth. Happily for the 400-strong crowd at the North Harbour Tennis Park, Nielsen was able to return to the court and close out the game with a minimum of fuss, before sailing through the rest of the set with a new-found sense of urgency.

"I decided to hit out more at his [Madgas'] serve, go after my own serve a bit more and basically try to keep the points short by hitting a higher percentage of winners," said Nielsen, who hopes to be fit to play the rest of the tie.

"I'm taking pain-killers and using ice-pack treatments to minimalise the problem, and I'm hopeful that I'll be fine for the rest of the contest.

"At a pinch, I probably could have played a fifth set if it was required."

However, Nielsen didn't mind admitting that he was taken aback by the initial assault from Magdas, who began yesterday's match with a world singles ranking of 1479, and wasn't expected to take a set off the New Zealander.

Instead, Nielsen was forced to fight tooth and nail through the first set before running away with the tie-breaker; was badly beaten in the second set after dropping his second service game, and was 2-0 down in the third before finally hitting his straps.

"I had the impression out there that he wasn't missing many of his first serves, and I think the scoresheet will back that up," he said.

"He served very strongly.

"There was a bit of pressure out there when I realised that he wasn't going to drop his serve, and that he was also playing a good all-round game - passing well, and getting around the court well."

In a match that took three hours and 19 minutes, Nielsen's energy was seriously drained during the opening game of the second set, when Magdas held service after a total of 14 deuces to pour the pressure on the home side's trump card.

The defining moment was probably midway through the third set when Nielsen battled back from 2-0 down to win 6-4, in the process snatching the momentum back for New Zealand and diluting some of Magdas' enthusiasm.

Even more satisfying for the New Zealanders was the performance from 19-year-old Jones, who was overrun by Al Ghareeb in the first set before fighting back in the second, out-lasting his opponent in the third, and romping away with the fourth.

"I had a bit of a problem with my concentration at the start, and he [Al Ghareeb] opened up pretty strongly," Jones said afterwards.

"I was just telling myself to hang in there, to try to make him play as many balls as possible and the floodgates would open.

"It took a while, but finally they did."