China and Uzbekistan battle to share spoils

04 April 2014 01:07

China and Uzbekistan shared the spoils on the opening day of their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie Friday in two gruelling five-set matches.

Zhang Ze took a 2-1 set lead against Denis Istomin in the opening match of the second round tie, but the Uzbek -- who is ranked 54th by the ATP, 150 places above his opponent -- recovered to take the last two sets, eventually winning 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

China's top tennis player Wu Di (ranked 195) was crushed 6-1 by Farrukh Dustov in their opening set, but took the following two sets on tie-breaks, only to lose the fourth and set up a decider.

With no tie-break in the final set, it lasted 16 games before 22-year-old Wu finally overcame his opponent 1-6, 7-6(7/4), 7-6(7-4), 3-6, 9-7, to the joy of the home crowd at the Tianjin Tennis Centre.

China is vying to reach the World Group play-offs later this year. The team reached the second round by beating New Zealand 3-1 in the previous stage.

Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe will attempt to put China in the driving seat on Saturday in their crucial doubles match against Dustov and Istomin, before the reverse singles on Sunday.

Source: AFP