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2024-01-29

Hong Kong, China to face Zimbabwe in crucial Davis Cup play-off

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Hong Kong, China to face Zimbabwe in crucial Davis Cup play-off

With a place in the Davis Cup World Group II at stake, Hong Kong, China will square off with Zimbabwe in a must-win play-off at Victoria Park Centre Court from 3-4 February 2024.  Nineteen-year-old Coleman Wong, now at a career-high ATP No. 246, will spearhead the home nation against a visiting team led by their 13-year stalwart, Benjamin Lock.  Play will commence at 1430 local time on both Saturday and Sunday.  Admission is open to the public.

All matches (four singles and a doubles) will be played to the best of three tiebreak sets with regular ad scoring. The nation to emerge victorious from this tie will head to World Group II in September 2024. The defeated side of this tie will compete in their respective Regional Group III events later this year.

Nominations

Hong Kong, China: Coleman Wong, Jack Wong, Roger Ng, Kevin Wong, and Yu Hiu Tung (Captain)

Zimbabwe: Benjamin Lock, Courtney Lock, Benedict Badza, Tatenda Mutetwa, and Takanyi Garanganga (Captain)


In the two sides’ most recent outing, Hong Kong, China was defeated by Latvia 3-2 in the World Group II first round at Victoria Park last September, while Zimbabwe finished second in Africa Group III to secure promotion to the World Group II play-offs.

HKCTA President, Michael Cheng: “Hosting it at Victoria Park allows the fans to come to the stadium and see the players up close and personal.  They can actively engage, show their support for Hong Kong tennis, and experience the emotional highs and lows of a Davis Cup tie.  It’s part of culture building.  It’s also a chance for the players to display their talent to the local community since they are competing overseas most of the time.  Equally important is the opportunity to show the world that we are more than capable of organising premier, world-class competitions, such as the Davis Cup, in addition to the ATP and WTA Tour events. Our team is going to fight hard to achieve our objective of retaining World Group II status.”

When Coleman Wong last played Davis Cup at Victoria Park four months ago, he was ranked No. 534.  Since then, the teenager has reached two Challenger Tour finals and is currently ranked at a career-high No. 246.  In June 2023, he became the first player from Hong Kong to capture a men’s singles Futures title by winning the Tunisia F29 in Monastir.  In September 2023, he captured the biggest title of his career, taking home the M25 Hong Kong. He made his Davis Cup debut against Chinese Taipei in September 2019 to become the youngest representative at 15 Years and 100 Days old.  He has played in eight ties and has a win-loss record of 8-3 in singles and 3-3 in doubles.

Since making his debut in 2015, Jack Wong has played seventeen ties and accumulated eight years of representation for Hong Kong.  He has a win-loss record of 7-7 in singles and 7-2 in doubles.  He is currently tied in third place all-time with Colin Grant and Wayne Wong in No. of Davis Cup Ties Played (17).

Yu Hiu Tung is the Captain of the Hong Kong, China team.  He received the Davis Cup Commitment Award in 2016, which is presented by the ITF to players who have shown long-standing dedication to representing their country in this prestigious competition.  He holds Hong Kong, China’s all-time record for most ties played (24) and is equal first in most years played (11).

Zimbabwe lost to Namibia in Africa Group III last year but still managed to finish in second place to secure a place in the World Group II play-offs.  The team’s No. 1 is world No. 354 Benjamin Lock, who made his Davis Cup debut in 2010.  He has played in 36 ties over 12 years and owns a win-loss record of 31-10 in singles and 16-10 in doubles.  In 2023, Lock qualified for the singles maindraw of a Tour event for the first time at the ATP 250 Chengdu and reached his maiden Challenger Tour final in singles at Medellin.  He captured two Futures titles, winning both weeks of the M15 Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and was named ITF World Tennis Tour Player of the Month for May.

He has 10 career Futures titles in singles and 35 career doubles titles, including four at the Challenger level and 31 on the ITF World Tennis Tour.  He partnered his younger brother, Courtney Lock, to win 16 of those 31 ITF World Tennis Tour titles.  Lock played college tennis at Florida State University from 2013-2016.  He was ranked as high as No. 9 in singles and No. 7 in doubles.  He was seeded 9-16 for the NCAA D1 Championships in his senior year and earned an All-America in singles.

His younger brother Courtney Lock is primarily a doubles player, who debuted in 2015 and competed in 14 ties over 7 years.  He is 0-5 in singles and 7-7 in doubles.  To date, the Lock brothers together have won 16 doubles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour and is 6-4 in Davis Cup play.

Since the inaugural event in 1900, the Davis Cup has grown to become the premier team event in men’s professional tennis.  It is now the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 155 nations taking part in 2023. The Davis Cup competition is owned and managed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the governing body of world tennis.

Davis Cup ties have been contested all over the world and in front of heads of state, celebrities, and the most passionate, patriotic fans in sport. Earning a Davis Cup nomination is the highest honor bestowed on a tennis player in their respective nations and many of the game’s all-time greats, such as Fred Perry, Rene Lacoste, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, to name a few, have featured prominently in the competition throughout its storied history.

Hong Kong, China reached the final of Asia/Oceania Group II four times between 1988-1992 and earned promotion to Group I after winning it in 1988 and again in 1992.  The last time Hong Kong, China contested a Group II final was in September 2003 when a Chinese Taipei team led by Rendy Lu and Jimmy Wang, who were ranked ATP No. 205 and No. 211 respectively at the time, defeated a TeamHK comprising Yu Hiu Tung, Wayne Wong, John Hui, and Brian Hung 4-1 in Kaohsiung.  Zimbabwe, behind Byron Black and Wayne Black, defeated Thomas Muster’s Austria to gain promotion to the World Group and maintained that status from 1998-2000 with wins against Patrick Rafter’s Australia in 1998 and Marcelo Rios’ Chile in 1999.