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New Zealand are staring at defeat in their Davis Cup tennis tie against Uzbekistan after losing the both opening singles rubbers in Namangan yesterday.
The New Zealand pair of Artem Sitak and Rubin Statham proved no match for their Uzbek opponents, losing both matches in straight sets in the Asia/Oceania group one tie.
New Zealand's No.1 Sitak, making his Davis Cup debut, was downed 0-6 3-6 1-6 by Farrukh Dustov in the first singles match.
Russia-born Sitak could not live with the world No.284 on the clay at the Pahlavon Sport Complex.
Statham faced world No.54 Denis Istomin, a player ranked 442 places above him, and the gulf in class showed with Istomin's serve a potent weapon in his 6-2 6-3 6-3 win.
The doubles tie is tomorrow, followed by the reverse singles on Sunday.
Results: Farrukh Dustov (UZB)beat Artem Sitak (NZL) 6-0 6-3 6-1; Denis Istomin (UZB) beat Rubin Statham (NZL) 6-2 6-3 6-3. Uzbekistan leads tie 2-0.