Tennis: Korea next target for Kiwis

Dan King-Turner in action against Abdullah Magdas of Kuwait at North Harbour Tennis Park yesterday. Picture / Martin Sykes

New Zealand has wrapped up its Asia/Oceania Group 2 Davis Cup semifinal against Kuwait 3-2 and now face a finals clash with Korea in a bid to regain their place in Group 1.

The Kiwi team dropped both of the "dead" reverse singles yesterday as debutant Adam Thompson was defeated by Kuwaiti No 1 Mohammed Al Gahreeb 7-5, 6-3 in an erratic display by Gahreeb and nervous match by Thompson.

Dan King-Turner, who played well in the doubles win with Mark Nielsen on Saturday, dropped his match to talented Kuwaiti No 2 Abdullah Magdas in an entertaining match 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3.

Even though New Zealand lost the final two matches, non-playing captain Bruce Derlin wasn't too concerned.

"It was good to give both Adam and Dan some court time and to build up the depth for the team, as well as seeing them play against the one and two from Kuwait," said Derlin.

All thoughts are now on the clash with Korea on September 23-25 to be held in New Zealand. The leading candidate as a venue is North Harbour's Tennis Park.

"I believe we can beat Korea. Obviously they have a top No 1 in Hyung Taik Lee but we can win at two and the doubles and if someone scores a win over Lee that would be a great bonus," says Derlin.

Hyung Taik Lee is ranked 62 in the world on the ATP singles entry list and has won an ATP event, Sydney in 2003.

Lee hasn't played for Korea this year and has at times had a testy relationship with Korean tennis officials.

But last year he faced up for Korea during the Group 2 final where he won both matches, but the rest of his team dropped the other three games and China rose to Group 1.

Korea has around 20 ATP ranked players compared with New Zealand's half dozen. Their second, third and fourth players are all ranked between 400 to 500 in the world and although not the biggest hitters of the ball, they are consistent and real fighters on the court.

New Zealand has a record of seven wins and one loss against Korea and could expect a large contingent of Korean supporters to turn out wherever the tie is held.

* Fourteen-year-old Sacha Jones made it two from two at the ITF 18s event at Darwin. Jones won the first of the two events last week and yesterday beat fellow Kiwi Shona Lee, 16, 6-1, 6-3 for back-to-back wins, a first by a New Zealander in the final.

Sacha is the younger sister of Davis Cup player G. D. Jones.

The win was Jones' third ITF 18s title of the year, with another 18s ITF event this week indoors at Auckland featuring the talented Kiwi quartet of Jones, Lee, Ellen Barry and Kairangi Vano, plus Australian Tiarne Ettinghausen.