South Korea defies tropical climate in Davis Cup duel
JAKARTA (JP): The South Korean Davis Cup squad said that they had no problems with Jakarta's hot climate as they geared up for the second round of the Asia Oceania qualifying round.
There, they will be put up against host Indonesia. The match is scheduled for May 6-8.
"We have been accustomed to playing in a hot climate," said non-playing captain Kim Choon-ho during a training session at Senayan tennis court yesterday. Weather in South Korea, during the spring, is between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius.
The South Korean tennis players, national number one Shin Han- cheol, second best Chang Eui-jong, Yoon Yong-il and Kim Chi-wan, showed no fatigue when they started their training program 13 hours after their arrival on Monday evening.
Captain Kim, however, declined any pre-match boasting despite the fact that his side comprised those who routed Indonesia 5-0 in their Davis Cup Asia Oceania qualifying round in Seoul last year.
"Wait and see," Kim said with a smile as his team was about to leave after four-hours of light training. Kim added his side was not taking any special preparations for the upcoming matches, other than their normal, five-hour-a-day training schedule.
World number 430 Shin, 24, capped his four-year career by taking the men's singles gold medal in last year's Student Games in Buffalo, New York. The lanky Chang, rated 436 in the world, was the doubles winner in several Asian tournaments last year.
Yoon, who turns 21 in September, won both singles and doubles in the Asia University championships last year. Doubles specialist Kim collected titles last year in Korean and Malaysian satellite tournaments.
South Korea will have its fifth encounter with Indonesia in the men's tennis team championship. They are carrying a 2-2 record. The South Koreans produced a 5-0 rout at home twice to make amends for their 2-3 defeat in their two outings here.
Indonesia will likely bank on Benny Wijaya and company who earned a 3-2 away victory over Hong Kong in their first round match in March.
The three-day tie will be played at the Senayan tennis courts, the graveyard for the South Koreans in their two previous away matches.
Poor treatment
Meanwhile, Edy Katimansah, secretary general of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti), expressed his regret yesterday that the committee did not treat the South Korean team with the respect that was their due.
He said he was in the dark about when the South Korean team would arrive.
"We should feel ashamed that we did not welcome our guests properly," Edy said. "They should have received garland upon their arrival at least," he added.
Kim and his team complained that the committee booked rooms at Kartika Chandra hotel for them instead of Century Park hotel as scheduled. The Indonesian side is staying at the Century Park, located near the Senayan tennis court, for a week. The committee promised to provide rooms for the South Koreans at the three-star hotel tomorrow.
"Polite hosts usually have rooms for their guests," Edy said.
The committee will sell 3,000 tickets at Rp 10,000 (US$4.68) for all three matches. No daily tickets will be available. (amd)