The New Zealand Davis Cup tennis team will have a mammoth task to win the Asia/Oceania Group two semifinal against Pakistan, after dropping the doubles match in straight sets at Hawera.
New Zealand's Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus were defeated by the experienced Aisam Qureshi and Aqeel Kan 7-6 6-3 6-2 in two and a half hours, to give Pakistan a two matches to one lead over the home side.
Daniell and Venus managed to take the Pakistan pairing to 6-6 in the first set tiebreak, but couldn't sustain the effort as the 37th-ranked Qureshi stepped up the pace and helped his team breeze through the rest of the match.
The tie now comes down to the reverse singles tomorrow morning, with New Zealand's Rubin Statham to take on Qureshi in the vital first game, followed by Venus against Khan in the second.
Yesterday Statham beat Khan in easy straight sets while Venus lost a dramatic five setter on debut 15-13 in a match which lasted over four hours to Qureshi.
