By TERRY MADDAFORD
What a difference a year has made for New Zealand non-playing Davis Cup captain Glen Wilson.
At last year's Heineken Open, Wilson, who was looking forward to a Davis Cup tie against Ubekistan, had little to get enthusiastic about as his players struggled at the showpiece tournament.
No player
won a singles match. Alistair Hunt, James Greenhalgh, Lee Radovanovich and Robbie Cheyne all lost in first-round qualifying, and Mark Nielsen went out in the first round proper.
New Zealand's only success came in the first round of doubles qualifying, when Radovanovich and Swede Andreas Vinciguerra won.
The Davis Cup team went to Invercargill and lost 3-2, despite Hunt winning a singles and Hunt and Greenhalgh the doubles.
This year Wilson has more to feel confident about.
Nielsen shocked seventh seed and world No 36 Vinciguerra in the opening round in Auckland.
His good form continued when he and James Shortall overcame a shaky start to upset Swede Simon Aspelin and Australian Andrew Kratzmann 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in a late-night first-round doubles match.
Earlier, Hunt won a tough three-set clash with German Alexander Waske in the first round of qualifying.
At the same stage, Simon Rea took Belgian Gilles Elseneer to two tiebreak sets before bowing out.
Elseneer went on to eliminate defending Heineken Open champion Dominik Hrbaty.
With Rea committed to his University of Tennessee team, Wilson will probably go without him when he names his Davis Cup team to play Indonesia in Invercargill next month.
He will most likely play Nielsen and Dan Willman in the singles and leave his doubles options open.
Wilson is reluctant to comment until Rea's availability has been resolved.
It seems Rea will be free to play in the first-round tie from February 8-10, but not the second round if New Zealand win through to a likely April clash with India, if they beat Lebanon.
Wilson will almost certainly name four players this week for the Indonesian tie.
Hunt and Shortall seem likely to join Nielsen and Willman.
Hunt and Nielsen have been cup regulars, but Shortall's only experience came in a "dead" rubber in Timaru a couple of years ago. Willman, who has been named in the team once, has yet to step out on court.
The Indonesian pairing of Suwandi Suwandi and Peter Handoyo might provide some test for whatever doubles combination Wilson goes with, but they are unlikely to test Willman and Nielsen in the singles.
It is expected the second-round tie will be played in Auckland at a yet-to-be-determined indoor venue.
By TERRY MADDAFORD
What a difference a year has made for New Zealand non-playing Davis Cup captain Glen Wilson.
At last year's Heineken Open, Wilson, who was looking forward to a Davis Cup tie against Ubekistan, had little to get enthusiastic about as his players struggled at the showpiece tournament.
No player
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