No Replacement
Lee Hyung-taik-Led Korean Tennis Hits Wall
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korean tennis star Lee Hyung-taik brought his country its first victory in the World Group of the Davis Cup last week against Florian Mayer of Germany in a match that lasted nearly four hours.
And after only a one-day break, the 32-year-old stepped onto the court again to face No. 28-ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber, despite suffering blisters on both feet and a muscle spasm, which caused pain in his back. He even had to stop during the match to receive treatment.
But the veteran could not quit because the South Korean team did not have another player who could give it as good of chance at advancing past the first round and into the quarterfinals.
Despite playing to his utmost ability under the unfavorable circumstances, the fatigued and injured captain fell to the opposing player in the tiebreaker of the fourth set, and his hopes for advancing to the next stage were blown in his final Davis Cup appearance.
``I might have won the match if I were not in a bad condition,'' Lee said. ``Now, young players have to lead the team.''
Added Korean coach Jeon Young-dae: ``We can map out a strategy once Lee wins singles matches.
``I think it hit the wall that Lee led the team for himself.''
Joo Won-hong, who coaches Lee on the Samsung professional tennis team, had the same opinion.
``Lee is 32 years old, so it takes more time for him to recover after a match,'' he said. ``It is kind of miraculous to advance to the World Group competition, depending on only him.''
Thus far, South Korea has not produced another player like Lee.
The country's lone star player, who is ranked 46th in the world, has represented South Korean tennis since he was a freshman at Konkuk University in 1996.
He is the first men's player to win an ATP Tour event in the history of South Korean tennis ― winning the Adidas International tournament in 2003 ― and reach the round of 16 in a Grand Slam event ― the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2008.
On Korea's Davis Cup team, no one else was ranked in the top 300. Jun Woong-sun is 317th, An Jae-sung 325th and Kim Hyun-joon 1,045th.
Due to their low rakings, they usually participate in challengers or futures events, lower levels than the ATP Tour.
``The rankings difference seems to predict an outcome. German players' completions in crucial moments are upper level,'' said Jun, who Lee once believed would become the country's next great player.
``Mental strength is meaningless if the ability gap is too wide,'' An said. ``It was a good experience.''
Including Lee's loss, the Korean team was defeated in three of the five matches in its series against Germany.
Although Jun defeated No. 59 Michael Berrer in the final match, it was not significant because the series had already been decided.
``Youngsters have to train with guts,'' said Lee, who wants to open a tennis academy after his retirement. ``Otherwise, their development will not be secured.''