Tennis: New Zealand crush Lebanon to open Fed Cup campaign

New Zealand tennis player Jade Lewis.

New Zealand has swept aside minnows Lebanon 3-0 to open the Fed Cup Asia Oceania Group Two campaign in Bahrain.

Katherine Westbury and Jade Lewis romped to 6-0, 6-0 wins over their respective opponents before Lewis teamed with Emily Fanning to win the doubles rubber 6-1 6-3.

"We wanted to send out a message to Uzbekistan and the girls stepped up. Katherine set the tone and then Jade followed that up," captain Neil Carter said.

Carter opted to rest Kiwi number one Erin Routliffe who had suffered a slight groin strain 24 hours earlier on the practice court. The decision paid off with Carter indicating she will be fit to face top seeds Uzbekistan in the group decider tonight.

"We left Erin on the bench as a precaution and the extra day's rest has done the world of good and she's 100 percent ready to go against Uzbekistan," Carter said.

The winner will advance to the semi-finals with the loser eliminated. The top two teams at the 14 team tournament earn promotion to Asia Oceania Group 1 for 2019.

Uzbekistan's top singles player is Sabina Sharipova ranked 193 with Nigina Abduraimova ranked 324. Its third player Akgul Amanmuradova is a veteran who was ranked 50 in the world in 2008.

By contrast Routliffe is New Zealand's top ranked player in the tournaent at 658. But the 22-year-old is better than her ranking might suggest, and she climbed more than 100 spots after winning the ITF Futures title in Sharm El Sheikh last weekend.

"We faced girls at that level in Egypt and the rankings don't mean much to me," Carter said.

"We are looking to win one of those singles and take out the doubles. We need one of those singles and with the doubles form the girls have shown, we rate ourselves to come through."

Results: NZ 3 Lebanon 0
Katherine Westbury beat Nancy Karaky 6-0 6-0
Jade Lewis beat Hoda Habib 6-0 6-0
Emily Fanning/Jade Lewis beat Hoda Habib /Nancy Karaky 6-1 6-3