New Zealander Dan King-Turner has missed out on a chance to qualify for the Australian Open tennis.
A victory today over lower-ranked Irishman Louk Sorenson would have put King-Turner into the main draw of a grand slam for the first time in his career.
But King-Turner, ranked 263, was unable to take advantage of his opportunity against the 287th-ranked Sorenson, going down 6-4 7-6.
Both players struggled on their serve in the first set, with neither able to maintain a first serve percentage over 60 percent.
But while King-Turner was only able to convert one of his eight break point opportunities, Sorenson converted two of his three.
The players traded service breaks during the second set, with King-Turner breaking Sorenson's serve in the 12th game to force a tiebreaker.
However, Sorenson dominated the tiebreak. Sorenson had five match points at one stage and converted it on his third.
King-Turner's serve in particular, often his best shot, let him down.
His match first serve percentage was a lowly 58 percent and though Sorenson's was little better, the Irishman won 53 percent of points on his second serve while King-Turner only won 36 percent on his.
NZPA
source: newshub archive
