1 Feb 2012

Statham knocked out of Burnie Challenger

8:15 am on 1 February 2012

The New Zealand tennis player Rubin Statham has been knocked out in the first round of the ATP Challenger in Burnie, Australia after going down in straight sets to Uzbekistan number one Denis Istomin.

Statham, currently ranked 554th in the world, was outclassed by the world number 60 Istomin losing 6-4 6-3.

The pair may meet again at next week's Davis Cup Tie in Tauranga.

Statham and Australian doubles partner Nima Roshan won their first round doubles match 6-0 7-6(6) against Australians Matt Reid and Ben Mitchell.

The pair now face top seeds American John Paul Fruttero and Russian Raven Klaasen in the quarterfinals.