Taiwan yesterday fell to a 2-0 defeat after the first day of their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I relegation playoff on the hard courts of the Yang Gu Tennis Park in South Korea.
South Korean world No. 44 Chung Hye-on took 1 hour, 58 minutes to see off the challenge of Taiwanese world No. 552 Wu Tung-lin 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 6-1 in the first singles rubber.
While Wu converted the only break points he created, Chung converted six of 13, winning 101 of the 166 points contested to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff.
In the second singles rubber, the hosts’ Kwon Soon-woo defeated Taiwanese world No. 240 Jason Jung 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4) in 2 hours, 49 minutes.
The South Korean world No. 208 saved six of 12 break points and converted six of 17, firing down eight aces as the visitors fell to within a loss of relegation to Asia/Oceania Group II.
In today’s must-win doubles rubber, South Korea’s Lee Jea-moon and Lim Yong-kyu are to take on Taiwanese duo Wu and Yu Cheng-yu.
In the Asia/Oceania Group II promotion playoff, Pakistan took a 2-0 lead over Thailand after the first day’s singles rubbers.
In the World Group playoffs, Japan took a 2-0 lead over Brazil as Yuichi Sugita defeated Guilherme Clezar 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), before Go Soeda won a nail-biter 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 6-4 over Thiago Moura Monteiro.
“I felt a lot of nerves at the start and lost my way a bit, but I managed to hang in,” 33-year-old Soeda told Agence France-Presse. “He put me under real pressure and I had to dig in at times. I’ve tried a lot of things to improve the mental side of my game, so I was happy to get through it.”
Japan have had to win playoffs for the past two years to retain their spot in the World Group.
“Today was a big step toward achieving that, but we have to keep our feet on the ground,” Japan captain Satoshi Iwabuchi said. “We still have to finish the job.”
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
A new NZ$683 million (US$404 million) stadium that was a symbol of Christchurch’s struggle to rebuild after a deadly earthquake struck the New Zealand city is to host its first match tomorrow in front of a sellout crowd. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed 185 people in February 2011 and toppled or damaged buildings, including the city’s old Lancaster Park. The stadium, which hosted international rugby and cricket, and was home to the Canterbury Crusaders, was badly damaged and never reopened. It was bulldozed in 2019 and turned into sports fields, leaving the Crusaders without a permanent home. Government funding for a new stadium was
Italian soccer is at its lowest ebb in nearly 40 years after a wholesale European exodus at club level followed the nation’s failure for the third successive time to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and compounded a leadership and structural crisis. The exits suffered by Bologna and ACF Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively meant no Italian teams are left in European competition this season. Italy’s last remaining UEFA Champions League contenders, Atalanta BC, went out in the round of 16 last month. It is the first time since the 1986-1987 campaign that Italian clubs
RSS