Teenager Rai in line to make debut for NZ in Davis Cup tie

AUCKLAND: Teenager Ajeet Rai could make his debut for New Zealand in next month’s Asia Oceania zone group 1 relegation tie against South Korea in Gimcheon on September 1415.

Tennis NZ high performance manager Simon Rea and team captain Alistair Hunt yesterday named a fivestrong team in which Rai (19), who attended a tie against in April last year,

becomes a fullyfledged member of the team for the first time.

He joins seasoned professionals Michael Venus, Rubin Statham, Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell in the squad.

Hunt said it was going to be a very difficult tie.

‘‘We are going to have to be ready for a tough assignment playing a strong team away from home. But it’s a great opportunity and our guys will have to be at their topend level,’’ Hunt said.

‘‘It’s fantastic for Ajeet to be part of the team and it will be a great learning experience for him.’’

Rea said Rai was a genuine option to play a live singles rubber.

‘‘He was the unofficial orange boy when we hosted Korea last year. This time he forces his way into the squad on his merits and it’s a byproduct of his body of work in recent months.’’

Rai, who is playing an ITF Futures tournament in Gimcheon this week, has been on tour for only a few months in the early days of his transition from the junior ranks.

However, has notched 16 wins against eight defeats. His ranking is 1154 but that is seen as largely irrelevant because he is at the beginning of his professional career.

‘‘Mike [Venus] has continued to put his hand up to help in whatever capacity he can and has a really strong Davis Cup singles record. Mike himself would acknowledge that doubles is his absolute priority these days and so we treat each tie differently as to which combination gives us our strongest chance to pull off the result we are after.

‘‘That’s where the preparation on the ground in Korea is important. We anticipate Mike will put his hand up to play singles, but Ajeet is a very real prospect to play a live singles for us and we will need him to prepare accordingly,’’ Rea said.

Rea is delighted Venus, Statham, Daniell and Sitak remain committed to Davis Cup.

‘‘They put their hand up for national representation with a minimum of fuss and discussion and they understand the importance of this tie,’’ Rea said.

The loser of the tie will be relegated to Asia Oceania group 2 for 2019 while the winner will remain in group 1. — NZME