Kiwis fly the flag on Day two

A strong kiwi contingent, two former ASB Classic finalists and a 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist will hit the courts on day two of Men’s Week the ASB Classic.

During the day session, tennis fanatics can start their day watching 2017 ASB Classic finalist Joao Sousa take on big-serving Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil on Grandstand Court. Sousa has a dominant 4-1 lead in their previous matches and it’s his sixth appearance at the ASB Classic so you could almost say, he has the homecourt advantage.

Following that match, 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy will look to find his top form against the 8th seed Radu Albot of Moldova. It will be the first meeting between the two players as Cecchinato looks to climb back up the rankings where he reached a career high of 19 in 2018.

On centre court, fans can catch a glimpse of the future of Spanish tennis in wild-card Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 20-year old former Wimbledon Junior Champion is one of five Next Gen stars looking to make their mark in Auckland. Davidovich Fokina faces a tough first-round match against 2018 Australian Open semi-finalist and former world No. 14 Kyle Edmund of Britain. This will be the first meeting between the two players and will open play on centre court at 12pm.

The doubles arena is where our local talent has flourished in the last few years, and tomorrow kiwi fans will have the opportunity to get behind their players as they take the court.

Kiwi Marcus Daniell and Austrian Phillip Oswald will take on the all-Italian pair of Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in the second match of the day on centre court. The fiery Italian, Fognini is the top seed in the singles draw and will entertain the crowd with his brilliant shot making.

Adding to the Kiwi flavour will be doubles wildcards Rhett Purcell and Cameron Norrie who’ll face the third seeds Rohan Bopanna of India and Henri Kontinen of Finland over on Grandstand Court

Once night falls, world No. 10 Michael Venus will begin his doubles campaign with new partner Australian John Peers. Venus enjoyed another stellar year on the doubles circuit reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals and reaching the finals of the ATP Finals in London. Venus and Peers will take on fellow kiwi Artem Sitak and Indian Divij Sharan.

Following this doubles spectacle, Australian John Millman takes on the exciting Swedish qualifier Mikael Mmoh in the featured singles match of the night session. The hard-working Millman played his part in the ATP Cup for Australia – and will be one of the few Aussies making his way across the ditch in preparation for the Australian Open.

After a stunning week of Women’s tennis, day two of Men’s Week set to offer another day of action where some of the most exciting men’s talent from in the world will show off their skills at the ASB Tennis Arena.

Ends

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