New Zealand at the 2000 Davis Cup.

Introduction

The Davis Cup is considered as the premier international tennis event for men. It is the largest annual international tennis competition. The Davis Cup is organized by the International Tennis Federation. It is contested in a knock-out format. The 2000 Davis Cup was the 89th edition of this prestigious tournament. There were total 16 teams to compete in the World Group. Other 119 nations played in regional zones. They were Americas Zone, Asia/Oceania Zone and Europe/Africa Zone. The World Group consisted of a four-round knockout tournament. All regional zones were divided into four groups.

Group I and Group II played knockout tournaments. Group III and IV played round-robin tournaments with promotion and relegation. The final was played from 8th to 10th December at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain. New Zealand at the 2000 Davis Cup was included in Group I of Asia/Oceania Zone. Following players from New Zealand participated in the tournament:

Alistair Hunt
James Greenhalgh
Mark Nielsen
James Shortall

Countries at the 2000 Davis Cup

Following countries took part in Group I of Asia/Oceania Zone: China, India, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand and Uzbekistan. All the players enthusiastically competed in the tournament. New Zealand�s players showed bright performance.

Participation and Performance of New Zealand in the 2000 Davis Cup

New Zealand at the 2000 Davis Cup directly played in the first round. New Zealand played the first set of matches against Thailand at Desmond Unwi T. C., Timaru, New Zealand from 4th to 6th February. New Zealand�s Mark Nielsen defeated Thailand�s Danai Udomchoke by 6-1, 6-1 and 6-3. New Zealand�s Alistair Hunt defeated Thailand�s Paradorn Srichaphan by 7-6, 7-6, 3-6 and 6-1. New Zealand�s pair, James Greenhalgh and Alistair Hunt defeated Thailand�s pair, Ekkarin Pisuth-Arnonth and Vittaya Samrej by 6-1, 6-0 and 6-2. Mark Nielsen defeated Ekkarin Pisuth-Arnonth by 6-2, 7-5.

Thailand�s Danai Udomchoke defeated James Shortall by 6-7, 7-6 and 6-1. New Zealand won total of 4 matches. As a result, they qualified for the 2nd round. The matches in the 2nd round were played from 7th to 9th April. New Zealand played the matches against Uzbekistan at Yunus Abad T.C., Tashkent. Vadim Kutsenko from Uzbekistan defeated New Zealand�s Mark Nielsen by 7-6, 6-3 and 6-2. Oleg Ogorodov from Uzbekistan defeated Alistair Hunt by 7-6, 6-2, 6-7 and 7-5. Uzbekistan�s pair defeated New Zealand�s pair by 7-5, 7-6 and 6-4. Mark Nielsen defeated Oleg Ogorodov by 6-2, 1-6 and 7-5. Dmitri Mazur from Uzbekistan defeated James Greenhalgh by 7-6, 6-4. New Zealand could win just single match.

New Zealand at the 2000 Davis Cup showed satisfactory performance.