Hong Kong was pitted against Indonesia four times since the territory first entered Davis Cup play in 1970. Not only has Indonesia won every single tie, Hong Kong has never led in any one of those encounters. In other words, while it is useful at times to make historical references towards past records, winning (or losing) streaks are bound to be broken at some point. Even Federer loses once in a while. Therefore, Martin's win today certainly gives HK a momentum-building 1-0 lead that bodes well for the remaining rubbers.

"Martin's win against Sie was close, a lot closer than the score suggests. The guy's got wheels and he can really motor. Sometimes, it takes three or four really good forehands before you can win the point. Full credit to Martin cos he hit a lot of outrageously well-struck forehands today, a lot of them even flat ones so as to get more pace behind it," said HK Davis Cup Captain, Derek Ling.

The Indonesians have made one change to their original line-up nominated ten days ago, with Ayrton Wibowo replacing David Agung Susanto. Wibowo, currently unranked, is to partner Rungkat in the doubles.

The opening singles between Martin and Elbert Sie began on cue at 11am. It ended, however, at approximately 7pm.

In between, a total of four rain delays threatened to disrupt proceedings but to no avail, as Martin kept his unbeaten streak in Davis Cup play alive and kicking. As a matter of fact, the way he came out swinging downright stunned the opposition. A combination of relentless sledgehammer forehands and Sie trying to counter the onslaught by doing too much resulted in an opening set that lasted less than 15 minutes.

To his credit, Sie, world ranked No. 707, managed to improve his play following each rain delay, and if not for Martin's accuracy, consistency, and weight of shots, the speedy Sie would have been a nuisance to most. In fact, the 20-year-old from Bandung was threatening to delay the inevitable towards the end when he broke Martin's serve as the HK Davis Cupper was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third.

Then, it came down to a tiebreak in which Sie did well to wrestle back the early mini-break he conceded. However, just as he was beginning to threaten again, Martin conjured his own mini-break after the change of ends, finally wrapping it up with two solid holds for 7-4.

The previously scheduled second singles on Friday has been postponed to 10am (local time) on Saturday, with the all-important doubles to follow (not before 1pm). According to the official draw, the pairing of Christopher Rungkat and Ayrton Wibowo will take on Yu Hiu Tung and Michael Lai, but folks familiar with Davis Cup play will know that in accordance to Regulation 36d(ii), "a Captain may vary the composition of the doubles team provided that notice of such variation is given to the Referee at least one hour before the scheduled start of play for the doubles match".

Did You Know...

According to Regulation 37, "The Number One ranked player of each team shall play against the Number Two ranked player of the opposing team on the first day, and the order of play shall be decided by lot. The Number One ranked player of each team shall play the third singles match. The Number Two ranked players shall play the fourth singles match"?

Results
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas 2008
Asia/Oceania Zone Group II First Round
Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Stadium, Jakarta
8 – 10 February 2008

HONG KONG leads INDONESIA   1 - 0
R-1 Martin Sayer (HKG) d. Elbert Sie (INA) 6-0 6-4 7-6(4)
R-2 Goran Bosalevski (HKG) v. Christopher Rungkat (INA)
R-3 Yu Hiu Tung/Michael Lai (HKG) v. Christopher Rungkat/Ayrton Wibowo (INA)
R-4 Goran Bosalevski (HKG) v. Elbert Sie (INA)
R-5 Martin Sayer (HKG) v. Christopher Rungkat (INA)