South Korea in 2-1 lead over Taiwan
Taipei (AFP) - Taiwan beat South Korea in a Davis Cup second-round tie Saturday to trail 2-1 in the fight to avoid a crunch relegation play-off against New Zealand.
Taiwan's pairing of veteran player Chen Ti, ranked 244th, and Peng Hsien-Yin were locked in a heated battle against Chung Hyeon and Lim Yong-Kyu before rain postponed the fifth set for nearly two hours.
After the break, the duo went on to beat the South Koreans 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 to ensure a fighting chance in Sunday's reverse singles.
South Korea replaced the original lineup for the doubles Cho Min-Hyeok and Nam Ji-Sung with higher-ranked Chung and Lim but was unable to claim an irreversible 3-0 lead over Taiwan.
On Friday, Lim defeated Taiwan's Hung Jui-chen 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in the opening singles match.
Taiwan's Wang Chieh-fu, ranked 806 in the world, lost to world number 180 Chung Hyeon in the second match 4-6, 5-7, 2-6.
The tie's loser will play New Zealand in a play-off next month to decide who will be relegated to Group two.
