New Zealand tennis professional Rubin Statham has this afternoon won the Distinction Hotels Te Anau Tennis Invitational for the fifth time.

Some of the biggest names in New Zealand tennis have been gathered in Te Anau for the annual tournament, which started in 2013 and is now ranked among the top in the country.

Statham has been sidelined for a year with a hip injury that required surgery but there was no sign of that today when he took on former French Open doubles champion Michael Venus in the final – Venus having upset the tournament’s defending champion Finn Tearney in a tiebreaker third set 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 yesterday.

Statham dominated the first set 6-2 but Venus came back fighting in a thrilling second set, the vocal crowd firing up alongside him. However, despite some powerful and crowd-pleasing rallies, he was unable to convert and Statham claimed the second set 6-3 to win the match.

Michael Venus fought hard but could not stave off a consistent performance by Rubin Statham. PHOTO: Kirsty Macnicol

After the match the doubles specialist confessed he wasn't used to covering the whole court and yesterday's matches had taken their toll.

"I was struggling to get out of bed this morning."

He now has three to four weeks to prepare for the Australian Open.

Statham heaped praise on the organisers of what he called "the best event in New Zealand".

He said yesterday's crowds were the biggest he'd seen in the five years he had played in Te Anau, and today's final was even bigger again.

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Tennis New Zealand president Terri-Ann Scorer echoed those compliments, saying it had been "stunning tennis in a stunning location".

"Events like this are the silver lining in the Covid cloud."

She said Statham, who has won a record 26 Davis Cup matches for New Zealand, had worked extremely hard throughout lockdown to overcome injury and surgery to get back to this level. He and his brother Ollie, who also took part in this year's Te Anau Invitational, had spent their lockdown training together and rebuilding strength.

"We saw today he's really in good shape to get back into it."

Scorer also praised Venus, for whom international travel this year had been extremely difficult. The doubles professional had, for the third year running, finished in the top eight teams in the world, she said.

Ian Willams – a Te Anau tennis stalwart and primary instigator of the tournament for which the trophy bears his name – paid tribute to the huge number of volunteers who had come together to ensure the ongoing success of the increasingly significant Te Anau competition.

All funds raised from the Te Anau Tennis Invitational are channeled back into the sport locally and, as a result, there has be a surge in the number of youngsters taking up the sport – as was well evidenced in the number of efficient ball boys and girls contributing all weekend.

Rubin Statham, holding the Ian Willans Cup, is congratulated by Te Anau Tennis Invitational organisers and volunteers. PHOTO: Kirsty Macnicol