Mark Nielsen Gives NZ Lead In Davis Cup

Mark Nielsen Gives New Zealand Lead In Davis Cup

New Zealand number one Mark Nielsen has opened the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania zone semifinal in Wellington with a win in blustery conditions at the Renouf Tennis Centre.

Nielsen, ranked 343rd, dominated the match which lasted less than two hours, winning 6-4 6-0 6-1 over Harsh Mankad. Both players faced difficult conditions with strong winds making some returns unpredictable. Nielsen was largely unchallenged by the Indian number two, ranked 754th who found the power of the New Zealander too much to handle.

"I was pretty happy with the way I played. It wasn't pretty tennis, but I felt like I kept my errors down. I don't think he liked it too high on his forehand,"

Nielsen said that as a local he expected the wind to cause problems and felt he handled the conditions well. "You have a general idea of which way the wind is going, but because of the stand, it makes it a bit more swirly, you think you know what's going on but then it changes," said Nielsen.

A medium sized crowd provided enthusiastic support to Nielsen as he won the first set breaking Mankad's serve three times. The second set took 23 minutes as Mankad, 22 struggled to hold his own serve.

The final set was completed in 42 minutes, Nielsen starting the set with an ace. Mankad did show some determination when he broke Nielsen's serve in the third game, however the Kiwi then dominated the rest of the set to win 6-1, who dropped a set point in the first set.

Result Mark Nielsen (NZL) bt Harsh Mankad 6-4 6-0 6-1

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