Sitak bows out of ASB Classic

Kiwi doubles wildcard Artem Sitak and his American partner Alex Lawson have put up a big fight against second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos at the ASB Classic.

The 36-year-old Sitak and his 28-year-old partner have been beaten 7-6 (4) 6-2 in 1 hour and 18 minutes.

Sitak says it was a quality match against a tough team.

“They're in really good form. And I thought we played well, too. We came up a bit short in that first set tie break. I think that's where we could have maybe turned some things around. And in the second set they kind of raised the level a little bit more, and we kind of dropped a little bit maybe.” Sitak said.

Sitak is pleased with the way his partnership with Lawson is developing.

“He's a great guy. He's a fighter. He's positive. He's practicing hard. So that's all I'm looking for. We just have to keep working hard together and hope we're going to get some good results.” Sitak said.

He and Lawson are likely to head to Spain for an ATP Challenger tournament because they won’t get into the Australian Open. The Kiwi needs another tournament before heading to Christchurch for next month’s Davis Cup tie against Bulgaria.

“The last Tie we had at home was right before the pandemic began so that’s going to be great. I hope that there will be full crowd in Christchurch which we had last time we played there. So, I’m hoping for the same against Bulgaria, especially with our singles guys doing well.” Sitak said.