After Zhang Ling had beaten Akgul Amanmuradova to give Hong Kong a 1-0 lead, Venise Chan, ranked some 475 places below reigning Asian Championships winner Iroda Tulyaganova, defeated the former WTA top-16 player, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, to cement HK's first win at this year's Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I event in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Standings  |   Results - Day 2

Hong Kong (1-1) is tied with Uzbekistan (1-1) in terms of win-loss in Group A, but the Uzbeks own a far superior stat in matches won-lost where they are 4-2, as opposed to the territory's 2-4.

Thailand (1-0) and Korea (1-0) both have only played one match thus far, while Singapore (0-2) currently sits bottom of Group A after having lost its opening two matches against Korea and Uzbekistan.

Hong Kong next faces nemesis Korea in a vital Group A game on Thursday.  On Friday, the territory will face Singapore to complete the round robins.

First up at number two singles, Zhang Ling (WTA 656) faced 2005 Asian Championships winner, Akgul Amanmuradova (208). Due to the windy conditions, she was under strict orders to begin play with high percentage tennis rather than going for the trigger too often, too soon. Unlike Zhang Ling, Amanmuradova did just that, spraying forehand and backhand errors all over the place, as she quickly fell behind 5-1. Although she got tight at the business end and yielded a break back to the 1.9m tall giant, Zhang Ling finally managed to capitalize on her third set point in the ninth game to take it, 6-3.

Visibly frustrated with not being able to find her lethal first serves today, Amanmuradova was still level at 2-2 in the second set when Zhang Ling made the crucial break and then consolidated it to force open a 4-2 lead that she would not surrender. The HK Fed Cupper broke the out of sorts Amanmuradova again in the ninth game to secure another 6-3 set to handover a morale-boosting 1-0 lead to Venise Chan at the one spot.

It must be said that although Amanmuradova did not exactly play her best game today, she did not arrive in Christchurch out of form either, as evidenced by her recent triumph at the C25 Mumbai in late March when she bulldozed her way through the draw without coming close to dropping a set.

As if déjà vu was making a timely reappearance, Venise was again faced with a David-and-Goliath situation when her opponent, Iroda Tulyaganova, seems to hold an upper-hand in every tennis-related facet imaginable. The Tashkent native is the current Asian Championships winner, having defeated Taiwan's 69th-ranked Chan Yung-Jan to lift the title last November. Moreover, since turning pro after winning Jr Wimbledon and the US Open girls' doubles in 1999, the 25-year-old has won three singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour and has amassed close to US$1 million in prize money alone.

Although the Uzbek Fed Cupper had been out with injuries after peaking at No. 16 in singles and No. 28 in doubles, she is now on her way back up and is ranked at No. 131 compared with the HK prodigy's 606. However, those resplendent feats did not matter much to the normally reserved HK number one, as she went point-for-point with the former WTA No. 16 until 3-3 when Venise found a crack with an onslaught of well-disguised, wide-angled shots to conjure successive breaks to strong-arm the opening set, 6-3.

"Again, because of the swirling winds, the pre-game tactic was to play high percentage tennis, keeping a short, compact swing, and utilizing the opponent's power to generate more control and sharper-angled shots, which of course is one of Venise's strengths. And the execution was close to perfection because Iroda certainly hits with a lot of power," explained HK Fed Cup Team Captain, Venant Shum.

Second set, however, Tulyaganova came back out determined not to get rolled over by some new kid on the block, and made some astute changes to force the issue, such as coming in behind flatter, more powerful inside-out forehands when sensing that prolonged baseline rallies might not bring that much of an advantage afterall. It worked well for the Tashkent native as she raced to a 4-0 lead before Venise finally held to make it 4-1. Tulyaganova then wasted no time in breaking again to pocket the second set 6-1.

Just when most observers were anticipating a restoration of order, so to speak, Venise started the third with a bang, producing several acute-angled drives that were so insane that her opponent could not even put a racquet to. She continued to frustrate her more accomplished opponent with Hingis-like timing, not to mention the accompaniment of some full-blooded, double-fisted backhand down the line passes, as she consolidated for a rapid-fire 2-0 lead.

In what could have been a potential match-turning third game, which Tulyaganova won after close to ten minutes of seesaw scuffle, the trainer finally arrived after having summoned for his presence earlier during the changeover. The routine three-minute injury time-out seemed to have an effect on Venise more so than her opponent who was by now nursing a back problem. The HK fed Cupper was immediately broken, as Tulyaganova leveled at 2-2.

While some players become hesitant and stagger when under siege, others, like Venise, just plain and simple thrive on the situation. Against the tide, she broke the world No. 131 twice in a row to forge ahead 5-2 as the finish line was now clearly in sight. Still, the experienced Uzbek would not give in and broke back courageously to take proceedings to 5-4 when she saved a match point with a world class return and then eventually breaking Venise's serve again for a level-pegging 5-5.

At that particular point in time during a match when Boris Becker once said mind over matter meant everything, Venise produced the crucial break after three lengthy deuces to wrestle back the lead at 6-5. After multiple break opportunities for Tulyaganova and two failed match-point attempts from Venise, the 17-year-old from Hong Kong finally sealed one of her biggest wins to date on her fourth match point, with a final score line that reads like, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

In the ensuing doubles, it was frustration again for the veteran HK duo, Tong Ka Po and Lam Po Kuen, as they won the opening set for the second day in a row, had chances to close it out in two, but eventually ended up going down in the third. Visibly hampered by a leg injury today, however, it was decided upon the Captain's discretion that the HK pair should call it a day after Tong Ka Po was broken for the fourth time when she was serving at 3-2 in the deciding set. It was clear that the injury was only going to get worse if she had carried on, but with victory already secured, it was decided with both player and team in mind, as well as the possibility of further worsening any serious aggravation, the doubles was reluctantly conceded.

Although the territory has an off day on Wednesday, gunning for victories against Korea and Singapore later on in the week is still very much the intended agenda. As it turned out, it was a tibialis anterior muscle injury and Tong Ka Po has subsequently been listed as day-to-day as of now by the HK team's physio.

Results
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas 2007
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I
Christchurch, New Zealand
16-23 April 2007

ROUND ROBINS (Group A)

Day 2 (Apr 17)

HONG KONG defeated UZBEKISTAN   2 - 1
R-1 Zhang Ling (HKG) d. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 6-3 6-3
R-2 Venise Chan (HKG) d. Iroda Tulyaganova (UZB) 6-3 1-6 7-5
R-3 Albina Khabibulina/Dilyara Saidkhodjaeva (UZB) d. Tong Ka Po/Lam Po Kuen (HKG) 2-6 7-5 3-3  --  Retired