S. Korea wins, Islanders remain in Group II

Pacific Oceania failed to keep alive its tie against top seed South Korea alive for a third and final day of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II semifinal after losing the doubles match yesterday at the mammoth Olympic Tennis Court in Seoul.

Woong-Sun Jun and Oh-Hee Kwon were just too much for islanders Juan Langton of Western Samoa and Brett Baudinet of Cook Islands and won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4, in just under an hour and half.

The win by the sleek South Korean pair gave the East Asian powerhouse an unassailable 3-0 advantage in the tie following its sweep of the opening singles matches Friday. South Korea now advances to the finals of Group II, where it awaits the winner of the tie between New Zealand and Kuwait. The winner of Group II would be promoted to Group I competition in 2006.

Despite the loss, Oceania Tennis Federation executive officer Patrick O’Rourke commended the islanders for maintaining their place in Group II for next year.

Joining team captain Jeff Race, of the CNMI, in the South Korean capital, O’Rourke reported that from the onset it was Jun and Kwon who were the aggressors in the match

He said Baudinet and Langton both lost their opening service games and barely returned any serves from the South Koreans. Only a hold of serve by Baudinet prevented a shutout, as the first set was lost in a lopsided manner.

O’Rourke said the carnage spilled over to the second set, as the islanders played below their normal standard, missing many volley opportunities at the net which translated to lost service games. The South Korean pair, meanwhile, continued to pummel Baudinet at the net and the mistakes piled up for Pacific Oceania, which failed to win a game in the second.

The third set threatened to go the same route, O’Rourke said, when Langton lost serve in the opening game. However, cheered on by the small crowd, the islanders began to play better tennis. They threatened Jun and Kwon’s service several times and held three break points at 3-4, but were unable to capture the point. The South Korean tandem then drove the final nail on the coffin by serving out the match.

The tie between Pacific Oceania and South Korea continues this morning at 11am with the reverse singles, which have been reduced to the best-of-three tiebreaker sets.

On Friday, Michael Leong of Solomon Islands and West Nott of Marshall Islands played gallantly but lost to South Korean dynamos Sun-Young Kim and Jun. Leong lost 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, while Nott fell 7-5, 6-4, 6-1.