Newly appointed Davis Cup captain Kelly Evernden has his first win in charge of the New Zealand team after the Kiwis beat Uruguay 3-1.
Rubin Statham beat the former World no. 19 Photo: Photosport
It's a sweet victory for Evernden in his first Davis Cup tie as New Zealand captain, after enjoying a stellar playing career representing his country in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Rubin Statham clinched the tie in the first reverse singles match, while Michael Venus and Artem Sitak showed their class, winning the doubles rubber on the second day in Las Vegas.
New Zealand advances to September's World Group 1 qualifiers with Uruguay relegated to World Group 2.
New Zealand's most capped Davis Cup player, Statham produced one of the performances of his career to beat former world number 19 Pablo Cuevas in straight sets 7-6 (3) 6-2 in an hour and 43 minutes to clinch a superb 3-1 victory for New Zealand.
Statham playing in a record 33rd tie for his country adapted well to the freezing temperatures and blustery conditions and pushed Cuevas hard in a tight opening set.
Games went with serve until the 8th game when the Kiwi dropped serve leaving Cuevas to serve for the set. But the Uruguayan wilted and was broken straight back. The set went to a tie break and Statham went up a mini break at 4-2, lost the advantage on the next point but then won both Cuevas's service points to bring up three set points at 6-3. He duly converted to claim the opening set in an hour and one minute.
Michael Venus and Artem Sitak Photo: Photosport
After holding serve to start the second set, Statham broke Cuevas's serve with a big return follow to the net and finished with a forehand cross court volley. He dug deep in the next service game from 15-40 to hold for a 3-0 lead. Cuevas kept fighting but couldn't find a way to break back and Statham completed quite possibly the best win of his Davis Cup career, given all he has been through the past two years with major injuries.
The 34-year-old Kiwi has a current ranking of 776 having lost his injury protected ranking when he returned to the tour full time last September. Cuevas may not quite the same player who broke into the top 20 in the ATP rankings in 2016 and who has beaten Rafael Nadal on clay, but he's still ranked 106 and is a seasoned pro.
Earlier Michael Venus and Artem Sitak defeated Cuevas and Ariel Behar, 6-3 6-4, to put New Zealand 2-1 up.
New Zealand advance to September's World Group 1 qualifiers while Uruguay drops down to World Group 2.
RNZ
