At the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas 2005 Asia/Oceania Zone Group III Playoffs on Saturday, the territory's quartet of Wayne Wong, Yu Hiu Tung, Brian Hung, and Martin Sayer successfully produced the 3-0 win Hong Kong needed against Sri Lanka to become the first team to clinch one of the two spots on offer for promotion to Group II next year.

In yesterday's other match-up in the upper bracket, Malaysia defeated previously unbeaten Vietnam 3-0 to render the remaining fight for the second promotion spot in the 1st – 4th Place Playoff a two-way tussle between the two.

Against Harshana Godamanne, Wayne took an early lead by breaking the Sri Lankan number two in the third game but failed to consolidate, as his counterpart broke right back to level at 2-2. The Hong Kong Davis Cupper then broke Godamanne twice more to serve for the set at 5-2, but lackadaisical play allowed the Sri Lankan to regain those two breaks, as he broke back twice to level at 5-5.

In the decisive game that followed, Wayne quickly jumped out to a 40-15 lead to hold two break points on the Godamanne serve. Although the 19-year-old from Colombo saved the first with an ace, that was not nearly enough to stop the Hong Kong native from breaking serve and then holding out for a 7-5 first set.

Wayne then wasted no time in conjuring two more service breaks in the second set, once in the third game and the other in the penultimate game, to outclass his opponent to grab the set and the rubber, 7-5, 6-2.

By registering his second win at these playoffs against Godamanne on Saturday, Wayne Wong (12-8) had, in actuality, moved past Melvin Tong (11-9) into third place on the Hong Kong Davis Cup all-time leading singles win list, and now only trails two of the territory's most decorated Davis Cuppers, Mark Bailey (17-13) and Colin Grant (17-15), in that particular statistical category.

In the second singles, Yu Hiu Tung made the brightest of starts by breaking Renouk Wijemanne in the opening game to take a rapid-fire 2-0 lead. He held that advantage until the tenth game when the HKSI scholarship athlete served for the set at 5-4 only to see his opponent break back to a 5-5 stalemate.

In the ensuing game, Tung had the Sri Lankan number one reeling at 15-40 but Wijemanne, world ranked No. 1479, saved both break points to force deuce. He saved four more in the next six deuces before the Hong Kong Davis Cupper made the final breakthrough to restore the one-break advantage at 6-5. Tung then held at love to register an all-important one-set lead.

Riding on this momentum, Tung won the first four games of the second set to take a stranglehold on this rubber, and the overall tie. Wijemanne failed to get past fifteen on Tung's remaining two serves, as the territory's world No. 994 held comfortably for 6-2 to hand Brian Hung and Martin Sayer a 2-0 lead heading into the doubles.

Mathematically, the Hong Kong Davis Cup team had needed a 3-0 scoreline to be sure of a place back in Asia/Oceania Zone Group II next year. Brian and Martin came out with all guns blazing, as they broke their Sri Lankan counterpart's serve in the opening game and then quickly consolidating, amid taken to deuce, for a nippy 2-0 lead.

Renouk Wijemanne and Harshana Godamanne, who had been on the receiving end of identical, 7-5, 6-2, losses in the singles just a few hours earlier, put forth a mighty effort to strong-arm the next three games from the HK duo to get proceedings back on serve. Both teams then held serve until 5-5 when Wijemanne was broken at fifteen to yield another crucial break at the business-end of the first set similar to the previous two singles rubbers. The HK duo duly took the opportunity and held out for the opening set, 7-5.

Brian and Martin ran away with the opening four games in the ensuing set and produced yet another break of serve in the last game to win the set in convincing fashion, 6-1, and thus ensuring a place for Hong Kong in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II in 2006.

In the other face-off in the 1st - 4th Place Playoffs, Malaysia played with a sense of urgency against undefeated Vietnam, as they knew after the defeat to Hong Kong in the round robins would not allow then another set-back in the tie to follow if they were to continue to mount a challenge for the remaining promotion spot.

Veteran Selvam Veerasingam produced a winning display of serve and volley tennis to subdue Vietnam's Ngo Quang-Huy, 6-4, 6-4, before Malaysian number one, Si Yew-Ming, came from a set down to pull off an 8-6 in the decider against Do Minh-Quan to win in three titanic sets, 6-7(9), 6-4, 8-6, that lasted close to three hours.

Nikesh Singh Panthlia and Adrian Tan combined to complete the 3-0 scoreline by beating Le Quoc-Khanh and a slightly expanded Do Minh-Quan, 6-3, 6-2.

Elsewhere, in the 5th – 8th Place Playoffs, Tajikistan finally added a 'W' to their column by defeating Bahrain 2-1 yesterday with playing captain, Mansour Yakhyaev, opting to play both singles and doubles himself. Although he went down against Abdul Rahman Shehab in three sets, 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4, Tajikistan's number one, Dilshod Sharifi, managed to beat Khaled Al-Thawadi, 6-3, 6-3, to push the tie into a deciding rubber.

The Yakhyaev-Sharifi combo did not disappoint, as they saw off Abdul Rahman Shehab and Abdul Latif Mohamed of Saudi Arabia, 6-4- 6-4, to register their nation's first win at these Group III Playoffs.

Earlier, the Saudis upended Qatar 2-1 when the deciding rubber was won by veteran Bader Al Megayel and Fahad Al Saad, as they beat Mohammed Abdulla and Sultan-Khalfan Al Alawi of Qatar, 0-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, in the doubles.

The bottom two nations resulting from the 5th – 8th place Playoffs will be relegated to Group IV for 2006.

O r d e r   o f   P l a y (Sunday, 17 July 2005):

1st – 4th Place Playoffs
Vietnam v. (1)Hong Kong*
Malaysia v. Sri Lanka

5th – 8th Place Playoffs
(2)Qatar v. (4)Tajikistan
(3)Bahrain v. Saudi Arabia

Note: Top Two nations from 1st – 4th Place Playoffs will qualify for Asia/Oceania Zone Group II for 2006; Bottom Two nations from the 5th – 8th Place Playoffs will be relegated to Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV for 2006.

*Hong Kong already qualified for Asia/Oceania Zone Group II for 2006

Results
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas 2005
Asia/Oceania Zone Group III Playoffs
Victoria Park Tennis Courts
13 – 17 July 2005

Day 4 (Saturday, 16 July 2005)

1st – 4th Place Playoffs

(1)HONG KONG defeated SRI LANKA   3 - 0
R-1 Wayne Wong (HKG) d. Harshana Godamanne (SRI) 7-5 6-2
R-2 Yu Hiu Tung (HKG) d. Renouk Wijemanne (SRI) 7-5 6-2
R-3 Brian Hung/Martin Sayer (HKG) d. Renouk Wijemanne/Harshana Godamanne (SRI) 7-5 6-1

MALAYSIA defeated VIETNAM   3 - 0
R-1 Selvam Veerasingam (MAS) d. Ngo Quang-Huy (VIE) 6-4 6-4
R-2 Si Yew-Ming (MAS) d. Do Minh-Quan (VIE) 6-7(9) 6-4 8-6
R-3 Nikesh Singh Panthlia/Adrian Tan (MAS) d. Le Quoc-Khanh/Do Minh-Quan (VIE) 6-3 6-2

5th – 8th Place Playoff

(4)TAJIKISTAN defeated (3)BAHRAIN   2 - 1
R-1 Abdul Rahman Shehab (BRN) d. Mansour Yakhyaev (TJK) 6-7(6) 6-3 6-4
R-2 Dilshod Sharifi (TJK) d. Khaled Al-Thawadi (BRN) 6-3 6-3
R-3 Mansour Yakhyaev/Dilshod Sharifi (TJK) d. Abdul Rahman Shehab/Abdul Latif Mohamed (BRN) 6-4 6-4

SAUDI ARABIA defeated (2)QATAR   2 - 1
R-1 Fahad Al Saad (KSA) d. Sultan-Khalfan Al Alawi (QAT) 6-2 6-4
R-2 Mohammed Abdulla (QAT) d. Omar Al-Thagib (KSA) 6-0 6-1
R-3 Bader Al Megayel/Fahad Al Saad (KSA) d. Mohammed Abdulla/Sultan-Khalfan Al Alawi (QAT) 0-6 7-6(6) 6-2

Note: Brackets denote initial round robin seedings