Tennis: Venus loses in quarters

New Zealand tennis No 2 Michael Venus was defeated in the quarter-finals of the singles at the US$50,000 Challenger in Napa Valley. Photo / Getty

New Zealand tennis No 2 Michael Venus has been defeated in the quarter-finals of the singles at the US$50,000 Challenger in Napa Valley in California today.

Venus, ranked at 364 in the world, lost to American Alex Kuznetsov (130) by a score of 6-2 7-6(3).

Venus had four service break opportunities against Kuznetsov but was unable to convert any of them, while the American had six break points on Venus serve capitalising on two of them, both in the first set.

Despite the loss, Venus should see his ranking improve by around 30-40 places.