The home team went 6-3 up after beating their Italian opponents for a fourth successive race, however their hopes of winning the first-to-seven series today were dashed when race 10 was postponed due to a change in wind direction.

Facing a 5-3 deficit after back-to-back defeats yesterday, Luna Rossa looked to respond and took the early lead in race nine.

But Team New Zealand came roaring back as they powered to a 30-second victory, finishing in a time of 25min 29sec.

"It was a really close race," said Pete Burling, helmsman for Team New Zealand.

"We thought we got off to a pretty good start and then Luna Rossa got inside of us and we couldn’t quite hold in there so we were slightly on the back foot.

"But we just kept fighting to try to find opportunities.

"It was great to get that final wind shift and that was pretty much what it came down to."

Having twice gone ahead in the 13-match series, Luna Rossa now find themselves on the brink of losing but co-helmsman Jimmy Spithill is refusing to give up.

"We feel excited," said Spithill.

"We are disappointed with the race today, there is no doubt about that.

"But we live to fight another day.

"When we came to the dock, there were no heads down or negative energy from any of our team-mates or supporters.

"They are ready for it and I can’t wait for tomorrow.

"I think it’s an advantage that we can go back and look at that race, learn from it and come out tomorrow.

"My experience of these situations is that you can’t look too far into the future.

"The score-line doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is winning that next race and that’s exactly how we are going to approach it and we will do everything we can."

The winner will be the first team to score seven points.

Action is scheduled to continue tomorrow with two more races, if required.