HK need match to get teeth into

Hong Kong were left looking for more after booking their berth in the second round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group Two competition by comfortably winning the doubles to take a 3-0 lead over Tajikistan yesterday.

Asif Ismail and John Hui combined well to defeat Sergei Makashin and Dilshod Sharifi 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in another one-sided encounter at Victoria Park to give Hong Kong an unbeatable lead.

But having feasted on this lightweight opposition, the Hong Kong camp looked a trifle dissatisfied that the banquet had ended before they could really dig their teeth into chunky morsels of competitive tennis.

'It was not a contest. Tajikistan were fielding a kid who was inexperienced and he was a relatively tame opponent. It was easy. We expect a much tougher outing in the second round,' said Hong Kong non-playing captain Derek Ling.

Ling was not complaining. In fact he was quite content and happy to see his players wrap up the tie 3-0. But from his position of strength, it would have been better if the Tajiks had been able to provide sterner opposition.

Even veteran Hong Kong Davis Cup campaigner Hui was feeling slightly peckish after the doubles match transformed into a bite-sized hors d'oeuvre which he and new partner Ismail quickly downed in a mere 75 minutes.

'It seems like Asif and I can play well together. But the opposition was not strong and it is really hard to tell. It was not difficult at all. It was a pretty comfortable win,' said Hui, who has featured for Hong Kong since 1995.