{"id":8816,"date":"2018-02-04T08:55:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T08:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennishk.org\/?post_type=news-detail&p=8816"},"modified":"2020-04-23T08:56:15","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T08:56:15","slug":"hong-kong-to-face-lebanon-in-davis-cup-group-ii-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"news-detail","link":"https:\/\/www.tennishk.org\/en\/news-detail\/hong-kong-to-face-lebanon-in-davis-cup-group-ii-semifinals\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong to face Lebanon in Davis Cup Group II semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hong Kong booked its place in the semifinals of this year’s\u00a0Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Asia\/Oceania Zone Group II\u00a0after\u00a0Kevin Wong\u00a0and\u00a0Brian Yeung\u00a0combined to beat Anoosha Shahgholi and Ashkan Shokoofi, 6-2, 6-0, to win the tie-clinching doubles earlier today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have a relatively young team, so getting the win without any crazy, wild finishes is always the better option.  It’s a good result and we’re through to the next round.  That’s what counts,” said Captain Yu Hiu Tung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We managed to jump on them early, stayed strong the whole match, and got the job done,” said Brian Yeung.  “The home supporters were amazing. It was a lot of fun playing in front of them, and a great win on my Davis Cup debut.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veterans Anoosha Shahgholi and Ashkan Shokoofi’s lengthy absence from the pro circuit was telling, as they had no answer for Hong Kong’s lively twosome, who are both currently playing full-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Earlier on Saturday, Group II debutante Jackie Tang<\/a> defeated Iranian number one, Shahin Khaledan, 7-6(1), 6-4, in the opening singles before Jack Wong<\/a> saw off Mohsen Hosseinzadeh in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to give Hong Kong a commanding 2-0 lead going in today’s all-important doubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, in Group II, Lebanon, although going up against a depleted Chinese Taipei side without its top singles player Lu Yen-Hsun<\/a> (ATP No. 81) or its top doubles player Hsieh Cheng-Peng (ATP No. 107), still caused an upset after unranked Hady Habib and Giovani Samaha beat Chen Ti<\/a> and Yu Cheng-Yu, 6-1, 7-5, in the tie-clinching doubles earlier this evening in Beirut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong will now play Lebanon away in the April 7-8 semis.  The winner of this tie will go on to face either Thailand or Philippines in the 2018 Asia\/Oceania Zone Group II final slated for Sep 15-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two sides last met in the Group III playoffs in 2016 when Kevin Wong and Karan Rastogi beat Hady Habib and Jad Ballout, 6-3, 6-4, for the tie-clinching win to earn promotion to Group II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Lebanese added a new player to its roster this year, German-based 23-year-old Benjamin Hassan<\/a>, who is ranked at a career-high ATP No. 504 this week.  Still seeking his maiden pro circuit title, Hassan reached four men’s singles Futures finals in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanon’s best spell in the Davis Cup came courtesy of Ali Hamadeh<\/a> and Jicham Zaatini<\/a> from 1997-2001 when their team was either playing in Group I or winning Group II Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamadeh won the NCAA D1 men’s doubles title together with Mahesh Bhupathi<\/a> while at the University of Mississippi in 1995.  He was ranked as high as No. 5 in singles and No. 1 in doubles collegiately. In 1999, he peaked at ATP No. 153 in doubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n



In 2001, the mercurial Zaatini gave his rendition of Iron Man tennis against Hong Kong in the Group II semifinals in Yarze on red clay when he first lost to Michael Brown, 7-6(7), 6-3, 0-6, 5-7, 6-8, on opening day. Then, he teamed up with Hamadeh to beat John Hui<\/a> and Chris Numbers, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6), the following day.  On the third day, he beat Melvin Tong<\/a>, 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-1, first up in the reverse singles for the tie-clinching win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamadeh and Zaatini contrived a five-set victory against India’s Leander Paes<\/a> and Fazaluddin Syed in Group I in 2000 when Paes held the world No. 1 ranking in doubles.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas
Asia\/Oceania Zone Group II First Round
Victoria Park Tennis Stadium, Hong Kong
Feb 3-4, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong defeated Iran 4-0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R1 Jackie Tang (HKG) d. Shahin Khaledan (IRI) 7-6(1) 6-4
R2 Jack Wong (HKG) d. Mohsen Hosseinzadeh (IRI) 6-2 6-3
R3 Kevin Wong\/Brian Yeung (HKG) d. Anoosha Shahgholi\/Ashkan Shokoofi (IRI) 6-2 6-0
R4 Skyler Butts (HKG) d. Amir Hossein Badi (IRI) 6-3 6-0
R5 Jackie Tang (HKG) v Mohsen Hosseinzadeh (IRI) DNP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-8816","news-detail","type-news-detail","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHong Kong to face Lebanon in Davis Cup Group II semifinals - Hong Kong, China Tennis Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennishk.org\/en\/news-detail\/hong-kong-to-face-lebanon-in-davis-cup-group-ii-semifinals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hong Kong to face Lebanon in Davis Cup Group II semifinals - Hong Kong, China Tennis Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hong Kong booked its place in the semifinals of this year’s\u00a0Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Asia\/Oceania Zone Group II\u00a0after\u00a0Kevin Wong\u00a0and\u00a0Brian Yeung\u00a0combined to beat Anoosha Shahgholi and Ashkan Shokoofi, 6-2, 6-0, to win the tie-clinching doubles earlier today. “We have a relatively young team, so getting the win without any crazy, wild finishes is always the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tennishk.org\/en\/news-detail\/hong-kong-to-face-lebanon-in-davis-cup-group-ii-semifinals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hong Kong, China Tennis Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-23T08:56:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tennishk.org\/images\/2072c.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"hkta_admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tennishk.org\\\/en\\\/news-detail\\\/hong-kong-to-face-lebanon-in-davis-cup-group-ii-semifinals\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tennishk.org\\\/en\\\/news-detail\\\/hong-kong-to-face-lebanon-in-davis-cup-group-ii-semifinals\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hong Kong to face Lebanon in Davis Cup Group II semifinals - 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