Rubin Statham has won the battle of the Kiwis in the final round of qualifying at the US$50,000 Shanghai Challenger this evening.

New Zealand’s top ranked singles player, Statham beat King-Turner 6-4 6-3 in one hour 44 minutes. The telling break came in the seventh game of the first set as Statham broke King-Turner and then continued to hold and eventually take the set. The second set had Statham consistent and breaking King-Turners serve twice more.

King-Turner struggled with his serve for the match with nine double faults and a first serve percentage of 48 while Statham was at 67 per cent.

It is not certain who Statham will play in the main draw as yet.

In the doubles main draw Statham and King-Turner team together, but have drawn the top seeds, top 100 ranked Thai brothers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana. Sitak is combining with Taipei’s Tsung-Hua Yang. They take on a German pair in their first round match.

The tournament is being used as a build up for the Davis Cup against India in a couple of weeks. The New Zealand team is named tomorrow (Tuesday).