Indonesia tied with South Korea in Davis Cup play-off

Indonesia tied with South Korea in Davis Cup play-off

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java

Indonesia and South Korea ended the opening day of their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone play-off at the Embong Sawo tennis stadium here on Friday all knotted up at 1-1.

Indonesian number one Febi Widhiyanto put Indonesia in the lead with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 thumping of Kim Dung-hyun.

South Korea leveled through Chung Hee-seok, who overcame Peter Handoyo in the second match. Peter was forced to withdraw with a foot injury. Chung had won the first two sets 7-5, 6-2 and was leading two games to one in the third set when Peter withdrew.

The two teams will continue their play-off on Saturday with the doubles match, which was to pit Peter/Suwandi against Chung Hee-seok/Chung Hee-sung. However, with Peter's fitness in doubt Indonesia may have to juggle its lineup.

Earlier in the day, about 1,000 spectators packed the newly renovated Embong Sawo to cheer Febi's impressive performance against Kim Dung-hyun, a two-time Asian champion.

Febi dominated Kim to avenge his defeat in their only other meeting, which took place in Thailand in 1999.

The Indonesian, ranked 773rd in the world compared to Kim's 420th, jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set, firing two aces along the way. Kim, who won the Asian Championship in 1995 and 1997, won the fifth game before Febi took the next two to secure the set.

The 23-year-old, who accounted for one of Indonesia's points in its 3-2 defeat to Uzbekistan in earlier Davis Cup action, broke Kim in the fourth game en route to a 4-1 lead in the second set.

Although Kim was able to two win another two games, unforced errors helped Febi take the second set 6-3.

The third set was a one-sided affair, with Febi controlling the game while a frustrated Kim hit error after error.

Trailing 2-0 in the third set, Kim could not conceal his frustration after a double fault, smashing a tennis ball into the air and earning a warning from the umpire.

Kim faced further frustration in the fifth game, when the umpire called in a serve by Febi that appeared to be out by inches. Kim argued the point to no avail and Febi shortly wrapped up the third set 6-0.

In the second match of the day, Peter, who hails from Surabaya, could not lift his game against an opponent who is ranked below him. A clear favorite in the match, Peter played so poorly that it was difficult for fans and officials from the Indonesian Tennis Association to hide their disappointment.

Meanwhile, Agence France-Presse reported from Wuhan, China, that China was tied 1-1 with Taiwan after Lu Yen-Hsun of Taipei beat Sun Peng of China 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, while Zhu Benqiang of China beat Wang Yeu-Tzuoo of Taipei 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (8/10), 6-1, 6-1.

In Minsk, Belarus, Max Mirnyi gave the host the lead over Zimbabwe after he beat Kevin Ullyett 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

In Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the host was left 2-0 by Thailand after Danai Udomchoke of Thailand beat Vadim Kutsenko 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 and Udomchoke's compatriot Paradorn Srichaphan beat Oleg Ogorodov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

In Malmoe, Sweden, Mark Philippoussis unleashed the tennis version of shock and awe Friday, hammering Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to move Australia to a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals.

In Toulouse, France, Sebastien Grosjean gave the host the lead over Switzerland in their Davis Cup quarterfinals after he defeated George Bastl 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, the host was left 1-0 by Ukraine after Ivaylo Traykov surrendered 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 to Ukrainian Orest Tereshchuk.

In Calcutta, India, Leander Paes crushed Mark Nielsen 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 in the opening singles to help India gain a 1-0 lead over New Zealand in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group One second- round match here on Friday.