ASB Classic: The lone Kiwi puts up a valiant fight

7:33 pm on 6 January 2025

Jamie Wall, Digital Sports Journalist

Isaac Becroft of New Zealand plays a backhand during his first round match against Zizou Bergs of Belgium during day one of the ASB Classic men's singles, on Monday. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

It was a short but memorable experience for New Zealand's only representative in the ASB Classic men's singles, with Isaac Becroft going down 6-3 7-5 to Belgian Zizou Bergs. Becroft may have lost, but it was an invaluable lesson for the 24-year-old from Wellington, who qualified as the local wildcard by winning last weekend's Te Anau Invitational.

"The crowd was electric - what you dream about when you're young," said Becroft, who was playing in his first ever ATP event.

"I was lucky, I got a few good early holds and I was serving alright. It's important to get those first few games on the board, it's windy, it's hard to play your best tennis. I managed to claw in and gather my nerves, and it felt like I was there for a lot of it."

Becroft has a current ranking of 939, a mere 873 less than Bergs, who came in as a qualifier.

The 23-year-old, who is currently studying at long-time New Zealand tennis destination Oklahoma State University, certainly wasn't afraid of what Bergs has brought. He held serve till 3-3, when the Bergs' experience kicked in and the Belgian closed out the set.

In front of a noisy crowd who had sat through the day session, Becroft was again competitive in the second, breaking Bergs to take a 3-0 lead thanks to some poor shot selections by Bergs.

Isaac Becroft of New Zealand thanks the crowd after losing his first round match against Zizou Bergs of Belgium during day one of the ASB Classic men's singles.

Isaac Becroft thanks the crowd after losing his first round match against Zizou Bergs. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

However, Bergs then held his nerve to win a crucial break point at 5-4, enduring a marathon deuce battle. Like the first set, the experience gap came to the fore, with Becroft sending too many shots long and Bergs simply taking the right opportunities to win the next two games.

"I didn't make him beat me, which is what will annoy me the most. I wanted to know it was on my racquet and not his," said Becroft.

"It shows me what I need to work on in my game, what I need to do. It happens once for me every year and he plays these matches 52 times a year. My key takeaways were my serve and my movement… everyone here is a really good player. I just tried to manifest and believe."

It was an impressive debut for Becroft, who will graduate this year and aims to join the ATP tour full time. He became a quick crowd favourite at Stanley Street, and is keen to repeat the experience.

"I've got a lot to learn, hopefully I'll go again next year."

Despite Becroft's heroics, he bows out in the first round like so many before him. The last New Zealander to advance at the ASB Classic was Rubin Statham back in 2019, in what was a huge upset over world number 25 Hyeon Chung. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 2010, when Statham made it to the second round as well - however a New Zealander was guaranteed to make it as he played Dan King-Turner.

Earlier in the day, seventh seed Nuno Borges kicked off the men's tournament with an entertaining 7-5 3-6 7-5 win over Italian Luciano Darderi. Not to be outdone, Roberto Carballés Baena went the distance against Daniel Altmaier, eventually coming out victorious 6-3 3-6 7-5 in a match that ended with a thrilling final rally.

Tuesday will see the big guns rolled out, with Cam Norrie up against qualifier Facundo Diaz Acosta in the second match of the day session. That's followed by Gaël Monfils against Pedro Martinez, and later on in the evening session the Kiwi doubles pair of Marcus Daniell and James Watt against Roberto Carballes Baena and Luciano Darderi. Olympic bronze medalist Daniell will be playing his last ATP tournament before retirement.