Over in Colombo this past weekend, Martin Sayer's exemplary play never wavered, as he defeated opposing No. 1 Harshana Godamanna, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Sunday to seal victory for Hong Kong against Sri Lanka in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Relegation Playoff.

"I went in with a good game plan, executed well, and was patient enough when I needed to," said Sayer. "He's [Godamanna] a tricky player who runs round for his forehands a lot so I tried to attack his backhand more by coming in or pin him back with my inside-out forehands, which worked out well for me."

"His serves might not seem overly powerful but they can be deceptive and hard to read sometimes. He could get some serious action on it, and given it's a lefty serve, it's pretty effective."

However, with Sayer serving well (15-plus aces) and being able to pick his spots when on attack, especially with the off-forehands, the HK Davis Cupper had the upper hand most of the way.

Apart from a disputed line call in the second set, which seemingly cost him to lose serve for the first and only time of the match, a lone break in the following two sets were all that was needed to produce a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, victory in just a shade under three hours.

"This win was extremely satisfying, just being able to come through for the team each day and of course making sure we stay in Group II next year, which was the ultimate goal," he added.

The unassailable 3-1 lead rendered the remaining singles rubber meaningless. Nevertheless, it was eventually won by 19-year-old debutante Dineshkanthan Thangarajah, who overpowered Gilbert Wong, 6-3, 6-2, to complete the 3-2 final score line.

Related Story: Sri Lanka's Davis Cup hopes dashed (Daily News, 12 Jul 2010)

With the win, the territory is assured of competing in Group II next year, while Sri Lanka returns to Group III having just gained promotion twelve short months ago.

Sayer triumphed in all three rubbers he contested, starting with the win against Sri Lankan No. 2 Dineshkanthan Thangarajah on Friday and then teaming up with Yu Hiu Tung to secure the all-important doubles on Saturday.

Since making his Davis Cup debut in 2005, the former King George V pupil has amassed an 8-1 win-loss record in singles as well as going 7-2 in doubles.

His number of total wins (15-3) puts him joint-4th on the all-time list together with Michael Walker (15-8), Melvin Tong (15-12) and Yu Hiu Tung (15-18), and now trails only Mark Bailey (29-16), Colin Grant (21-17), and Wayne Wong (18-12) in this particular statistical category.

The only other Hong Kong Davis Cupper to have registered double digits in total wins is former Michigan captain, Brian Hung (10-2).

Sayer's lone loss thus far in singles came at the hands of former ATP No. 72 Cecil Mamiit in a Group II first round tie where he briefly held one match point before going down in a titanic battle, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 9-7, that produced one of the most scintillating Davis Cup matches seen at Victoria Park in recent memory.

Meanwhile in Group I, former ITF Junior World Champion Yang Tsung-Hua (ATP 299) led Chinese Taipei to a 4-1 victory over Cecil Mamiit's Philippines, while Uzbekistan, led by Denis Istomin, was too strong for an inexperienced Korean team, winning their playoff encounter in Gimcheon, 3-2.

In the absence of Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lu Yen-Hsun (ATP 42), 19-year-old Yang Tsung-Hua was the goto guy for Taiwan, as he went undefeated over the weekend in Kaohsiung.

After accounting for Treat Huey on Friday, Yang collaborated with Yi Chu-Huan to beat Huey and Mamiit, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-6(6), to claim the doubles. He then sealed the tie with a five-setter against Mamiit, winning it, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

On the other hand, Uzbekistan made quick work of a Korean team still searching for an anchor following the retirement of Lee Hyung-Taik, as Denis Istomin and company sped to a quick fire 3-0 lead after the doubles on Saturday.

Korea will now face-off with the Philippines in the Group I Relegation Playoff in September with the losing nation emerging from this tie getting the drop down to Group II in 2011.

Elsewhere in Group II, Malaysia went down against Pacific Oceania 3-2 in Kuala Lumpur and drops down to Group III for next year's campaign. In last year's Group II Relegation Playoff, Malaysia managed to shock Mohammad Ghareeb's Kuwaiti team 4-1 to remain afloat.

This year's Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Final will pit New Zealand up against Paradorn Srichaphan's Thailand after both teams won their respective semifinals this past weekend.

Although Paradorn – now Thailand's non-playing captain following his retirement – was without the services of veteran Danai Udomchoke – 20-year-old Kittipong Wachiramanowong (ATP 485) came through by winning both his singles to power his team to a 4-1 away win over Christopher Rungkat's Indonesia.

Playing at home, New Zealand was able to overcome Pakistan 3-2 despite the heroics of Aisam Qureshi. The Pakistani ace defeated Michael Venus, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 15-13, on opening day before partnering Aqeel Khan to beat Venus and Marcus Daniell, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2, in the doubles.

The Kiwis, however, were able to grab both reverse singles rubbers in straight sets with Jose Statham defeating Qureshi and Austen Childs downing Aqeel Khan.

The Asia/Oceania Zone Group II final will take place over the weekend of September 17.

Depending on the outcomes of the Group I Relegation Playoff and the Group II Final, the make-up of Group II in 2011 will be: Hong Kong, Pacific Oceania, Pakistan, Indonesia, Syria, Iran, New Zealand or Thailand, and Philippines or Korea.

Daviscup.com Blogs

Results
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas
Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Relegation Playoff
Colombo, Sri Lanka
July 9-11, 2010

HONG KONG defeated SRI LANKA 3-2

R-1 Harshana Godamanna (SRI) d. Yu Hiu Tung (HKG) 6-3 6-2 6-0
R-2 Martin Sayer (HKG) d. Dineshkanthan Thangarajah (SRI) 6-3 6-2 6-0
R-3 Yu Hiu Tung/Martin Sayer (HKG) d. Harshana Godamanna/Rajeev Rajapakse (SRI) 6-4 6-4 6-0
R-4 Martin Sayer (HKG) d. Harshana Godamanna (SRI) 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4
R-5 Dineshkanthan Thangarajah (SRI) d. Gilbert Wong (HKG) 6-3 6-2

Sri Lanka relegated to Asia/Oceania Zone Group III in 2011