Former pro Artem Sitak will take over as the Davis Cup captain for New Zealand in the World Group II tie against Luxembourg in Palmerston North.
The 38-year-old Sitak replaces US-based Kelly Evernden and will lead the tie which takes place indoors at Fly Palmy Arena on September 14-15.
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The team for the tie is KP Pannu, Ajeet Rai, who are likely to be the singles players, along with Rubin Statham, at No 195 in doubles, and Finn Reynolds, who has a doubles ranking of 235.
Auckland's left-hander Jack Loutit has also been selected for the first time.
The 20-year-old Loutit, who is about to enter his second year at the University of Kentucky playing NCAA tennis in the US, is regarded as having huge potential
Sitak said he has been following Loutit’s progression and is impressed with what he’s seen.
“He was with the team when we played Bulgaria in Christchurch and I saw him play there and thought he was good,” said Sitak.
“Then I saw him in Auckland this year at the ASB Classic in qualifying and we hit a few times before that. His improvement was drastic, his shots had got really big and he’d got stronger. I know right now he’s at college and he’s with a good coach, so that will help him a lot.”
Sitak retired as a player after this year’s ASB Classic and was a stalwart of the New Zealand team throughout his career, making his debut against Uzbekistan in 2011 and playing for the final time against Thailand last September.
The Davis Cup has always been special for Sitak and he says it is an honour for him to become captain so soon after moving into coaching.
“Even when I was playing, I felt like I really wanted to become the Davis Cup captain. So when I decided to retire from tennis, it was in my plans,” Sitak said.“I hoped that one day I would become Davis Cup captain and I hoped I’d be good enough for that. The fact that I could get it six months after I retired is amazing.
“I feel so proud, honoured and I feel a huge responsibility towards tennis in New Zealand and the Davis Cup squad."
Following retirement from professional tennis in January, Sitak has completed his coaching course and has recently taken up a coaching position in the UK.
Sitak captained the New Zealand Junior Davis Cup team in Kazakhstan in May, with the team narrowly missing out on a place in the quarterfinals on count back and he said that experience prepared him for his new role.
“That helped a lot, I had to deal with a lot of things, we played a lot of matches, had a long preparation, but it was good preparation. I connected with the guys, and we did really well.” he said.
Tennis NZ CEO Julie Paterson thanked Evernden for the contribution he made as Davis Cup captain.
“We welcome Artem as our new Davis Cup captain. His dedication to the New Zealand Davis Cup team as a player over many years has been exceptional and we're excited to see what fresh perspectives he can bring in the captain’s role as a recently retired pro,” Paterson said.
“I also want to thank Kelly for a great contribution as captain. As one of New Zealand's greatest ever on the court, he brought a lot of mana to the role and the team achieved some great results under his leadership, with a win vs Uruguay against the odds in 2022 a particular highlight.
“We're sure this won't be the end of his contribution to tennis in New Zealand."
Evernden was understood to be a hard taskmaster for the players and also was not keen on leaving his Seattle base too often.
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