Korea Meets India in Davis Cup Action

Korean tennis players were in short sleeves, while Indian players wore long sleeves and track pants for the opening round of Asia-Oceania Group One matches in Davis Cup play yesterday. The Davis Cup is the biggest team competition in men’s tennis. Its first round consists of four singles matches and one doubles match.

Amid extremely cold temperatures, Korean national team players Jeong Hee-seok (Chungnam Province) and Lee Hyung-taik (Samsung Securities) each came away with a win, needing only one more to advance to the semifinals.

Jeong (ATP ranking: 677), who was expected to have a tough time in the first singles match, used tenacious strokes to defeat India’s Rohan Bopanna, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

In the second singles match, Lee (ATP ranking: 89) started the game in a poor physical state and received a fluid injection, but he finished strong to defeat India’s Prakash Amritraj (ranked 249th), 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in one hour 35 minutes.

In preparation for India, whose players are known for their strong serves, Lee Hyung-taik asked the Korean Tennis Association if the court surface could be made slower. The request was accepted and the slow court worked in Korea’s favor.

Indian players, who are used to a warmer climate, had trouble with Korea’s cold and its strange court.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com