Islanders to begin tie with HK today

Pacific Oceania will tangle with Hong Kong beginning today in the first round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II competition at the 3,800-capacity Victoria Park Tennis Centre in the former British colony.

Although the draws have not yet been set as of press time, Pacific Oceania team captain Jeff Race of the CNMI is expected to play Michael Leong as his No. 1 player and Juan Sebastian Langton as his No. 2 player in the two singles matches today.

Leong, of Solomon Islands, has been the most consistent player for Race since the 19-year-old made his debut for the islanders in 2004.

He comes to the tie against Hong Kong having won six of his first nine Davis Cup matches, including a 6-1 record prior to losing two games to powerhouse South Korea last July.

Langton, of Western Samoa, is the most veteran of the bunch having seen action in 28 Davis Cup matches, winning 17 of them.

The 22-year-old made his Davis Cup debut in 2002, and together with teammate Brett Baudinet, of Cook Islands, is the most successful doubles team Pacific Oceania has ever had.

Baudinet, for his part, is the oldest player in Race’s disposal. The 24-year-old has one of the most devastating serves in the region but is better suited with playing alongside Langton in doubles.

He comes to the tie against the former Crown Colony having played 27 Davis Cup matches and winning 13 of them.

The fourth player that makes up the islanders’ Davis Cup team is West Nott of Marshall Islands. The 23-year-old former Georgia Tech standout had his debut last year against South Korea but lost to hotshot Jun Woong-Sun in three highly competitive sets, 7-5, 6-4, 6-1.

Pacific Oceania is ranked 63rd in the latest Davis Cup rankings. It first played in Davis Cup in 1995 and has seen action in 48 ties, winning 23 of them.

Race and company is expected to face tough competition. Not only will they be playing in hostile ground for a second straight tie, they will also be opposing a Hong Kong team that has three players with rankings in the International Tennis Federation.

Spearheading 57th-ranked Hong Kong, which will be coached by Derek Ling, is Hiu-Tung Yu, who is ranked 934th in singles and 1,312 in doubles. He will be joined by Wing-Ling “Wayne” Wong and Martin Sayer, who are ranked 1,489 in singles and 1,351 in doubles, respectively. The only Hong Kong player suiting up without an ITF ranking is Xiao-Peng Lai.

The tie between Pacific Oceania and Hong Kong continues tomorrow, Feb. 11, with doubles and Sunday, Feb. 12, with reverse singles. All matches, including today’s, start at 0600 hrs GMT.