Wanganui tennis standout Kyle Butters was a part of the New Zealand Kauris representative team which made history by winning the Australian Tennis League at Melbourne Park this week.
The Kauris are the New Zealand Men's Asia/Pacific Tennis League Team and won the tournament against Australia's top club teams, whoqualify for the finals by winning each of their respective state conferences, as well as the other invited team from Japan.
They play an elimination Teams Event format from the best of six matches four singles and two doubles games per tie.
Butters and his teammates, Michael Venus, Artem Sitak, Marcus Daniell and Finn Tearney, won through to the final against the Queensland representatives, Brisbane's Charger club.
The singles games were tied 2-2, although New Zealand were leading on countback by one set, then the Sitak/Daniell and Venus/Tearney teams won the doubles games to see New Zealand home 4-2. It was an improvement on 2013 when the Kauris finished fourth.
Kauris coach/captain Alistair Hunt, Venus, Sitak and Daniell, now head to China with Rubin Statham as the New Zealand Davis Cup team contest the Asia/Oceania Group 1's first-round tie against China, starting on January 27.
Butters earlier entered qualifying for the Australian Open Junior Championships in Melbourne on January 15-16.
The teenager won his first game against Aussie Jack Lyttle 7-6(4) 6-4, then his next match with Latvia's Arturs Lazdins 7-6(5) 6-1.
