Korea Beats China in Davis Cup
By Mark Dake
Contributing Writer
A week ago, Korea's Davis Cup coach gave a slight chuckle when asked if China could pose a serious threat in the tie between the two nations this past weekend on the slow, blue Plexicushion hard courts at the Tennis Center in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
Kim Nam-hoon, though, likely won't be taking China lightly anymore. The tie, stretching over four days due to rain delays, was not decided until the fifth and final rubber on Monday afternoon when Im Kyu-tae beat Zeng Shaoxuan to clinch the 3-2 victory in the Group 1, Asia-Oceania second-round play offs
By early Friday evening, with Korea ahead 2-0 after two lop-sided, routine singles wins over mismatched Chinese players, the crowd in the sun-baked tennis stadium had every reason to believe the visitors would be mercifully put out of their misery the following day during the doubles competition.
On Friday, Im Kyu-tae easily handled a young Gong Mao-xin, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. And Lee Hyung-taik, ranked 135th in the world, followed with a ruthless, efficient 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 dissection of Zeng Shaoxuan. But the depth of the men's game is such that even those in the lowly 500s in the world rankings can prove formidable against better players.
Lee and Im could only manage to win one set in doubles against Zeng and Zhang Ze, Saturday, losing 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. The stage was set for the reverse singles Sunday, but torrential downpours played havoc. Not until 8 p.m. Sunday were the courts dry enough to play on. But instead of 33-year-old veteran Lee, Korea inserted rookie Lim Yong-kyu, 18, against Zhang, himself a substitute for Gong, who had played nervously and unconvincingly Friday.
Lim, a powerful 1.8-meter hitter, was leading 6-2, 6-6 when the match was halted due to more rain. After returning to the court Monday at 9:30 a.m., he won the tiebreaker 7-0, putting him ahead 2-0 in sets. But Zhang fought back, wining the third 6-4. The fourth set went to a tiebreaker, and despite Lim holding match point at 7-6, he couldn't close it out, losing the breaker 9-7. Down 2-0 in the fifth, Lim was forced to retire due to leg cramps.
It would be up to the lanky, power-hitting Im to salvage the tie and he didn't disappoint, quickly routing Zeng, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3, to give Korea the 3-2 win.
Although Im was the hero, the weekend was a last hurrah for Lee, who after 15 years on the pro tour is calling it quits this fall. Lee was superb in his Friday match, using an intelligent, highly efficient, silky-smooth, controlled game.