Taiwan on Wednesday lost their opening Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I match against South Korea 3-0 at the National Tennis Center in Astana, Kazakhstan, to sit bottom of Pool B, with tough matches against Uzbekistan and China still ahead.
Taiwan, playing without top-ranked players such as Hsieh Su-wei, Chan Yung-jan and Chang Kai-chen, now face an uphill battle to avoid relegation after the loss to South Korea.
South Korea’s Yoo Mi defeated Taiwan’s Yang Chia-hsien 6-4, 6-2 in the opening singles rubber, before Jang Su-jeong battled to a 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 win over Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei.
In the doubles, South Korean pair Han Na-lae and Lee So-ra cruised past Taiwan’s Lee Ya-hsuan and Yang 6-2, 6-1.
In the other Pool B match on Wednesday, Uzbekistan defeated a strong China 2-1.
Taiwan were due to play Uzbekistan yesterday.
In Pool A on Wednesday, Thailand defeated Indonesia 3-0, with hosts Kazakhstan still to commence their matches.
The top teams in both pools will compete tomorrow in a promotion playoff for the right to advance to World Group II, while the bottom teams face a relegation playoff that will see the losers relegated to Asia/Oceania Group II.
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