Masur tries to be upbeat

AUSTRALIAN Davis Cup captain Wally Masur says his squad is still capable of resurrecting its World Group quarter-final tie against Kazakhstan despite a nightmare day on and off the court.

Masur’s players are one defeat from exiting the competition on a temporary Darwin grass court as they bid to make the World Group semifinals for the first time since 2006.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis each lost on the opening day of the tie at Marrara Sporting Complex.

Kyrgios’ shock 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 loss to world No.115 Aleksandr Nedovyesov – complete with poor body language at times and after being 5-3 up in the third set – left Australia in a 2-0 hole in the best-of-fivematch tie.

Kazakhstan No.1 Mikhail Kukushkin had earlier outclassed Kokkinakis 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match.

“We’re still here, we’re still smiling … it’s still about the match upcoming,” Masur said.

“That’s the irony of it all; we haven’t actually lost.”

The defeats come in the wake of Bernard Tomic’s partying antics that landed him in a Miami jail in the US early yesterday.

Masur insisted the Tomic controversy had no impact on his players, although both he and Kyrgios checked in with Tomic.

Kyrgios won the secondset tiebreak then broke for a 4-3 third-set lead after an audacious lob winner.

But Kyrgios failed to serve out the set in the 10th game and the match went to a third straight tie-breaker.

The disbelieving 20-yearold slumped into a chair, head in hands, at the back of the court after dropping serve.

Nedovyesov, as in the first set, raced to an early advantage in the tiebreak and managed to hang on.

Kyrgios bellowed after the third set, “I don’t want to be here”, a comment he said post-match was in reference to finding himself behind on the scoreboard.

“It was pretty hard; that hurt me mentally a lot,” Kyrgios said of being unable to clinch the third set.

“I guess he drew a lot of confidence from that and started playing pretty good.

“I was struggling to find myself in the match.

“I don’t think I really found that balance of enjoying myself and playing some good tennis.”

Kokkinakis, 19, hoped he couldn’t play much worse but paid tribute to Kukushkin.

“He really didn’t give me much at all, but I think I can move forward and, hopefully, play a better match,” Kokkinakis said.