But it was quickly relinquished on the upwind leg when Oracle's massive improvements in boat speed over the past few days saw them fly past ETNZ to cross the finish line a full 54sec ahead, in what was a crushing blow for the Kiwis.
"It was very impressive and gives us a lot of confidence," Spithill said. "Benny and Tom Slingsby are doing a great job in the afterguard. We have really improved the boat, it is going fantastically well and the boys want it more than anything so bring on tomorrow. It will be the most exciting day of all of our lives."
The contest had looked all but over last week after the Kiwis won their eighth race from 11 starts to go to match point but the brash Australian Oracle skipper has proved as redoubtable in defence of his position as Oracle have been with the Cup.
"We have one hell of a battle on our hands here but stranger things have happened in sport," he said on day eight . "I've witnessed some pretty big comebacks and it's never over until it's over. This team will fight the whole way to the end and we will never give up.
"There is a lot of history in sport of teams coming back from huge deficits. We have to approach the race to win regardless of the scoreline. We have to go out and win one race at a time. It can be done."
Since then, Oracle have not only upped their game in terms of improvements to the boat and team performances but they have also had the rub of the green while the Kiwis have suffered some cruel luck, most notably when race 13, in which they had a lead of around one kilometre, had to be scrapped after they ran out of time due to light airs and slow speeds.
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