Venus and Sitak handed main draw wildcards at Classic
The two Kiwis join German Dustin Brown, writes Liam Napier.
Two New Zealanders will feature in the men’s ASB Classic after Michael Venus joined Artem Sitak in securing main draw wildcards.
German Dustin Brown, the flamboyant 72 ranked German, was handed the third wildcard by tournament director Karl Budge. Brown knocked Rafael Nadal out of the second round at Wimbledon in 2015.
Venus, now a full-time doubles player, is a somewhat controversial inclusion, as top ranked Kiwi singles player Rubin Statham and No 2 Finn Tearney battle to make it through qualifying.
Statham decided not to return to New Zealand to contest the NZ Championships in December. Sitak came through that tournament to claim the wildcard.
Budge was unapologetic about his decision to give Venus entry over Statham.
‘‘They had their opportunity,’’ Budge said. ‘‘We put a wildcard up for New Zealand champs and if you want to come back and win the wildcard and take us out of the equation you can.’’
Venus will meet Spanish sixth seed Feliciano Lopez in the first round while Sitak takes on France’s Jeremy Chardy, ranked 69. Venus prevailed against Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez over three sets in 2015, losing to Lucas Pouille in the second round. He lost in straight sets to Benoit Paire in the first round last year but went on to claim the doubles title.
‘‘I think Mike is our best singles player,’’ Budge said. ‘‘He’s shown that over the last two years. He was the first Kiwi player to win a match in 12 years two years ago and backed that up against Lucas Pouille, a guy that’s now fringe top 10. I don’t think there’s been a better atmosphere, certainly in my time, than the night Mike won.
‘‘He played very well this year against Benoit Paire and I think he’s got a game that can win a match out on centre court. It’s a tough draw for Mike. Lopez is a very solid player. That will certainly be a centre court match but Mike has a game on fast courts that can play well.’’
Sitak is in the doubles final Chennai and faces a quick turnaround to return home. ’’Chardy is a solid player he’s been top 30 for a long time. He’s quite a fun guy to watch.’’
Budge is confident interest will remain strong in next week’s tournament, despite the early exits of the Williams sisters deflating the women’s event.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, Tommy Robredo and Taylor Fritz have also pulled out of the men’s tournament.