Doubles ace Venus set for shot at men’s singles title
Michael Venus is hoping for another against-the-odds performance at the ASB Classic, after being given a surprise wildcard into the singles event.
The doubles specialist hasn’t played a competitive men’s singles match since October 2018, in a Davis Cup tie against Korea.
But next week he will walk out on centre court, to play in the first round of an ATP 250 event. He has drawn defending champion Tennys Sandgren.
It’s a formidable challenge, but Venus doesn’t lack self-belief. The 31-year-old has been focused on doubles since 2016, and it has proved a good decision.
He won the 2018 French Open alongside Ryan Harrison, and reached the Wimbledon final last year with Raven Klaasen.
Venus has won a total of 10 ATP doubles titles, qualified for the yearending finals in London three times, while he broke into the top 10 last year.
But the singles’ fire still burns, which is why he was keen when tournament director Karl Budge made the suggestion a few months ago.
“We spoke about it, I spoke to my coach about it and we thought that it could be a good opportunity to start the year,” said Venus. “I would love to play more [singles] but with the doubles and I have no ranking. I can’t get into the singles any more.”
Venus is confident he can justify the decision.
“I did a lot of training in the offseason and the body feels good,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball well, just have to get back into the habit of covering both sides of the court and
working those angles out and what works on the singles court. You start to figure it out quite quickly, like riding a bike.”
But Venus has been competitive, despite massive rankings disparity, at the ASB Classic in the past, highlighted by the unforgettable victory over Alejandro Gomez in 2015, which was the first time a
Kiwi had beaten an overseas player at the tournament for more than a decade. “There’s something about this court,” said Venus. I’ve had such great memories playing on it and it seems to bring out something special in my game. Hopefully I can have some great moments out there,” he added.
Budge says Venus was the “best possible local option”, offering the most realistic chance of a compelling centre court encounter.
New Zealand’s No 1 singles player Rubin Statham, who topped Korean Hyeon Chung last year in Auckland, has been out injured for the best part of a year. Rhett Purcell (world No 929) and Ajeet Rai (1059) lost in first round qualifying yesterday.
The pick of the first-round matches sees fifth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire (world No 24) takes on Jannik Sinner (Italy). Sinner is the youngest player to reach the top 80 since Rafael Nadal in 2003, rising from 553 to No 78 last year.